Transfer expert David Ornstein has urged Manchester United supporters to have ‘a bit of patience’ while the club works to hash out a deal with Bayern Munich for Matthijs de Ligt.
In fairness, proceedings may move quickly in the coming days due to the centre-half’s Euro 2024 exit following the Netherlands’ 2-1 defeat to England last night.
De Ligt wasn’t granted a single appearance at the tournament by Ronald Koeman, while fellow United target Joshua Zirkzee made just two outings off the bench, which totalled only four minutes worth of action. If any Reds were tuning in to see how their potential new signings fared, they’d have been left thoroughly dissatisfied.
Nevertheless, supporters were calling for the club to pursue De Ligt as far back as 2019. At the time, he was managed by Erik ten Hag and had just captained Ajax to the Champions League semi-finals and a domestic double at 19 years old.
Now 24 years old, the Dutchman boasts a plethora of added experience under his belt, having spent three years at Juventus and the past two seasons in Munich.
Read more: Fans spot Kobbie Mainoo interact with United target after Euros semi-final
What Ornstein has said about De Ligt
Ornstein addressed the latest speculation regarding United’s move for the player on the latest instalment of The Athletic podcast, saying: “As things stand, Manchester United are working on this De Ligt deal. I think some of the reports [are] saying that a fee is close… my information is that’s not necessarily accurate.
“I don’t mean to sound any alarm, but as things stand, it is something Manchester United continue to work on. I don’t have any sense of it being imminent, about to be done and announced.
“Famous last words, this podcast comes out, and he’s holding up a United shirt. Well, he’s not because he’s at the Euros, so we’ll be okay on that front, but I think a bit of patience is required on this.”