4 months ago
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Man United are closing in on Dutch duo Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt as the Premier League giants look to finalise both deals this week.
Erik ten Hag entered the summer transfer window looking to add a striker and a centre-back to his United squad and the Dutch coach has found a duo he likes in the form of his fellow countrymen. The Netherlands pair have given priority to Man United to make their transfers happen having already agreed personal terms with the Manchester club.
The Red Devils have agreed to pay the €40m release clause in Zirkzee’s Bologna contract, while Bayern Munich want around €55/60m for De Ligt.
Sources have told CaughtOffside that Man United continue to negotiate with the European clubs and that the Premier League outfit hope to finalise both deals by the end of this week.
The transfer of De Ligt is the trickier of the two deals, with sources stating that should United fail to land the Dutch defender, they will move for Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite or Lille’s Leny Yoro, who is also wanted by various other clubs such as Real Madrid and Liverpool.
Man United are pushing for Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt
Are Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs De Ligt the right players for Man United?
On paper, the deals for Zirkzee and De Ligt seem like positive ones for Man United but in reality, are they really?
Zirkzee is the more exciting of the duo as he is coming off the back of an impressive season with Bologna having produced 12 goals and seven assists across 37 games in Italy. The 23-year-old is not a brilliant finisher but his profile may complement Rasmus Hojlund throughout the 2024/25 campaign.

As for De Ligt, the 24-year-old is a risky move for Man United as the centre-back is yet to show consistency at the highest level of the sport, hence why Juventus sold the Dutch star and now Bayern Munich are willing to as well.
The centre-back had great success with Ten Hag during their time together at Ajax, but the Man United coach does not play the same style of football at Old Trafford as he did in Amsterdam.
Signing both players for a combined €100m seems like good business and only time will tell if it works out for Ten Hag and Man United.
