Man United emerge as contenders for versatile, valuable asset from Premier League rivals

It’s been a decent summer transfer window for Man United at this point, and with a month still to go, there’s plenty of time for business to be done.

Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro are expected to be two of the brightest young talents in the game, and it’s understood that United are also talking with Matthijs de Ligt.

Man United want to sign versatile Chelsea star

A move for the Dutch warrior makes perfect sense given that he was Erik ten Hag’s captain at Ajax, and integral to the way in which his manager wanted his teams to play.

If he could land De Ligt, it would represent a real coup and absolutely shore up what was a leaky Red Devils defence last season.

Indeed, in 2023/24, they were the only team in the Premier League’s top eight to finish with a negative goal difference.

To put that into perspective, Tottenham, who were the second worst out of those top eight clubs in terms of goal difference, finished on +13.

Therefore, the need for a solid back line is obvious.

If, for whatever reason, United can’t get a deal for de Ligt over the line, they’re likely to insist on Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah making the move up north.

According to Pete O’Rouke, speaking on Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Chalobah will finally move in this window.

The outlet also suggest that United appreciate the player’s versatility and believe him to be a valuable asset.

Given that Chalobah has already turned down other clubs according to Football Insider, and as he isn’t part of the Blues pre-season tour, he’d be mad to turn his nose up at this latest approach for his services.

Particularly as Man United appear set to embark on a period of real change under Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS group.