Scholes pinpoints ‘massive’ apprehensions over priority Ten Hag target who ‘wasn’t good enough’ for his last club

Paul Scholes has weighed in on Manchester United’s ongoing pursuit of one of their priority transfer targets.

The Red Devils have been locked in negotiations with Bayern Munich for Matthijs de Ligt for over a month now, albeit to no avail at this stage.

It’s thought that the Dutch international is their first-choice candidate to bolster the backline, even more so since new recruit Leny Yoro fractured his metatarsal in just his second outing for the club, resulting in a three-month layoff. It leaves only Lisandro Martinez, Jonny Evans, Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire as Erik ten Hag’s options heading into the new season.

Earlier in the window, United tried their luck with two bids for Everton ace Jarrad Branthwaite but saw both rejected for failing to meet the club’s £70 million valuation. As a result, they put the blinkers on in targeting De Ligt, who was immediately keen on a move to Old Trafford.

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Why Scholes is puzzled by United’s De Ligt pursuit

Yet, Scholes harbours concerns over why Bayern are so open to sanctioning the 24-year-old’s exit. They signed him from Juventus for £68m only two years ago, and he featured sporadically under Thomas Tuchel last term.

“He’s not playing for them,” Scholes said of De Ligt’s game time in Munich on The Overlap Fan Debate. “That’s a big concern for me, especially when Eric Dier is playing in front (ahead) of him. That is a massive concern for me.

“When you’re bringing in players for £40-50m just because he’s played for him (Ten Hag) three or four years ago. Juventus got rid of him – he wasn’t good enough at Juventus. He’s obviously not been good enough at Bayern Munich, and he’s coming to us almost as like a second-rate defender.”

“He might be [a good signing], don’t get me wrong,” Scholes concluded.