The reaction to the latest news coming out of Manchester United is one of, well, confusion.
Now, this is not exactly a new thing. The Red Devils have long since been a source of much bemusement for fans and pundits alike the planet over.
But, on this occasion, it is Manchester United who look set to benefit from a decision which is being framed as something of a transfer market blunder, rather than the other way around.
Mike Verweij of De Telegraaf reports that Man United have offered Matthijs de Ligt a five-year deal at Old Trafford. The Dutchman is expected to depart Bayern Munich this summer.
And while it would be a stretch to suggest that De Ligt has been worth every single penny of his £68 million price-tag at the Allianz Arena, the reaction from Bayern supporters to the former Ajax captain’s potential departure speaks volumes.
It’s an opinion Dutch reporter Valentijn Driessen shares.
One of confusion. One of considerable bafflement as Bayern Munich prepare to sell a man who will leave Bavaria after playing the best football of his ‘FC Hollywood’ career over the second half of 2023/24.
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Manchester United close in on Matthijs de Ligt
“De Ligt has had a fantastic six months,” a rather disbelieving Driessen says. “That, of course, says it all (about the way Bayern are operating).”
There is a concern, however, that the man likely to become the first new face of the Ineos era is another player who has worked with Erik ten Hag before. The ex-Ajax boss has had a very mixed track record when it comes to signing those he knows well, with Lisandro Martinez the only unarguable success and Antony an £82 million disappointment.
It should be said, however, that United’s interest in De Ligt has been driven not be Ten Hag but by Ineos. The Times report that De Ligt – who was the teenage skipper of Ten Hag’s brilliant Ajax side during that stirring run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019 – was initially put forward by Man United’s new decision makers.
Driessen is praying that De Ligt, after a hit-and-miss couple of seasons at Juventus and Bayern, can rediscover the form that once made him the most coveted young defender in the game.
“Now, with Ten Hag, hopefully we get to see the old De Ligt there (at Man United),” Driessen adds.
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Still only 24, Man United would be getting a defender who’s best years are still ahead of him. Nearly a decade Raphael Varane’s junior, De Ligt will add both youth and experience to the Red Devils backline and looks the perfect foil for another former Ajax ace in Lisandro Martinez.
“They don’t foresee any problems (getting the deal done with Bayern),” explains Verweij. “De Ligt should be able to work it out. He probably also wants to leave Bayern Munich, because the prospect (of regular starts) there are somewhat less.
“If you have received such a good offer, that is not the problem. Just the clubs have to come to an agreement.
“They are now also in discussions. I think Bayern also wants to get him off the payroll and receive a good amount for him. Then the question is whether those clubs can come to an agreement.”
De Ligt was not, however, United’s first-choice centre-half.
But with a deal for Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite looking increasingly unlikely, with Leny Yoro preferring Real Madrid, and UEFA blocking a move for Nice stopper Jean-Clair Todibo, De Ligt has risen quickly up United’s wishlist with Bayern seemingly willing to consider offers below the fees that had been floated initially.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/U3WvjiH