Manchester United make first Matthijs de Ligt offer with Bayern Munich needing to sell

Manchester United have made a first offer for Bayern Munich and Netherlands defender Matthijs de Ligt, according to reports. United have been linked to the Dutchman for a number of weeks with the Old Trafford club seemingly seeking to severely strengthen the defence this summer.

United have already signing Leny Yoro from Lille this summer, who replaced Raphael Varane at the club after his contract expired and he left as a free agent. Erik ten Hag endured some major problems with the defence last season due to injury and poor form. United need good players.

Bild’s Christian Falk has reported that United have made an opening offer for the Dutchman this summer which was an initial £29.5 million but the Bavarian club are reportedly holding out for £42 million although the clubs needs to sell players this summer to fund further spending.

It seems that United can only charge what clubs want to spend, which may be less than the value of the player but other clubs are clearly able to call for high transfer amounts for players they no longer want, which is typical of this transfer market. I am sure United will stand firm on their valuations.

Erik ten Hag and Matthijs de Ligt have history with the Dutch manager giving the now 24-year-old his first opportunity in the Ajax first team, which helped the Dutch defender to find his feet in the game and rise to the levels he has playing for Ajax, Juventus and Bayern Munich in his career.

The duo havre a good relationship according to the reports and De Ligt is the kind of profile that Ten Hag desires at the club, which will further implement his style of play at the club, despite the fact that footballing decisions will be made above the manager, which shows the hunger of the club.

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has opened the door to a potential departure for the Netherlands international this summer. Speaking to the German media, Hoeness also linked the player to United, speaking about the nationality of Ten Hag and De Ligt. He said:

“It’s possible that a defender will leave. De Ligt is Dutch, the coach at Manchester United is Dutch… I would have no problem if he stays. Personally, I would not sell [Dayot] Upamecano.”

Written by Paul