According to David Ornstein, Manchester United are seriously considering a move for Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt this summer.
Man United have been heavily fancied to sign Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite in recent weeks, but they continue to be linked with multiple central defenders.
Ornstein has now revealed that the Red Devils are seriously considering a move for De Ligt and he is an increasingly viable option.
He added that no talks have taken place between the clubs. United’s interest is independent of the pursuit of Branthwaite.
Reunion
De Ligt started off his career as a teenager with Ajax. He played the best football of his career under manager Erik ten Hag before making the switch to Juventus.
After a couple of seasons in Italy, de Ligt secured a move to the Bundesliga with Bayern, but his future is now uncertain after the arrival of manager Vincent Kompany.
Bayern recently signed centre-back Hiroki Ito from Stuttgart by triggering his release clause. They are also in talks with Bayer Leverkusen over captain Jonathan Tah.
If Tah were to join the club, it looks certain that de Ligt could head for the exit door. In that case, United could be in pole position to land the defender from the Bavarian giants.
De Ligt would be a superb signing for United, considering his fantastic passing range. He completed 93.9% of his passes in the league last season, only Tah fared better than him.
The Dutchman lost possession on less than 4 occasions per game with 2.4 clearances and over 3 ball recoveries.
We are not surprised that United are looking into a deal for him. Ten Hag has a good relationship with his former star and could be keen on reuniting with him at Old Trafford.
Bayern are requesting for around £59 million which United could be reluctant to pay with the budget being limited. They may have to recoup funds from player sales to sign him.
