Sky – ‘Internal issue’ in United’s pursuit of ‘superstar’ target – they could end up missing out entirely

Manchester United certainly aren’t getting themselves into Bayern Munich’s good books after lowballing in their opening proposals for Matthijs de Ligt.

It was reported on Monday that after several weeks of pursuing the player, United tested Bayern’s resolve with a £29 million bid for the centre-half and saw their attempt swiftly rebuffed after not meeting the Bavarian outfit’s £42m valuation.

Now, Florian Plettenberg claims that the Red Devils are offering ‘significantly less’ than the aforementioned asking price, which has led to Bayern being unwilling to do any business unless their demands are met.

Plettenberg adds that De Ligt’s potential sale fee is an ‘important internal issue’ and that director Max Eberl must adopt a firm stance in dismissing any cheap proposals.

🚨🔴 So far, Manchester United are offering significantly less than €40m for Matthijs de Ligt!

FC Bayern have rejected every offer so far. They are firm about not negotiating on this. ManUtd (or another club) have to pay €50m plus bonus payments.

De Ligt‘s sale price is an… pic.twitter.com/BU18hvICMH

— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) July 23, 2024

Read more: One Premier League outfit is among four clubs targeting United man who’s ‘excited’ by prospect of exit

INEOS must pay up or risk missing out on De Ligt entirely

In fairness, you can understand why they’d want to hold out for a respectable fee. De Ligt is only 24 years old yet boasts a plethora of top-flight European experience. He won the Golden Boy award in 2018 before captaining Ajax to a domestic double and the Champions League semi-finals at just 19 the following year.

Even the official Bundesliga website has De Ligt listed as a ‘defensive prodigy’ who turned into a ‘full-blown superstar’, adding that he’s a ‘Rolls Royce centre-back, with all the tools at his disposal to spearhead the modern footballing revolution’. 

The defender being lesser-favoured and a more rotational option in Munich shouldn’t really warrant United’s belief that they can acquire him on a cut-price deal. Should they continue as they are, Bayern may close off the prospect of a deal entirely.