United deemed favourites in race to land Bundesliga stalwart this summer, his price tag has been revealed



Manchester United are believed to be front of the queue if Matthijs de Ligt pushes for his Bayern Munich departure this summer, as per Tutto Juve.

The defender has been made to settle for a reduced role under Thomas Tuchel, making just nine starts in total across the Bundesliga and Champions League. In last Sunday’s high-stakes clash with league leaders Bayer Leverkusen, De Ligt was an unused substitute and watched on from the bench as Bayern fell to a 3-0 defeat.

Ranking behind Dayot Upamecano, Kim Min-jae and now, surprisingly, Eric Dier, it’s thought that De Ligt could push to ply his trade elsewhere next season, and having already played in the Netherlands, Italy, and Germany, England could be the next one to tackle.

Should that be the case, it’ll come at a time when United are expected to be in the market for a new centre-half. Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans are likely to leave when their contracts expire, leaving just Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof as Erik ten Hag’s senior options. De Ligt has been given a reported price tag of £42.7 million.

It’s a well-known fact that Ten Hag often favours moves for players he’s already acquainted with in some aspect, whether it’s from his Ajax days or even earlier. In this particular scenario, he may be looking to reunite with the star that captained his side to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019 and a domestic double at just 19 years old.

Dutch football player Matthijs de Ligt and Ajax head coach Erik ten Hag speak during their press conference on the eve of their UEFA Champions League first-round football match at the Johan Cruyff Arena.