‘You always want to play’: United-linked 24-y/o addresses uncertain future at current club

Manchester United are believed to be mulling over a summer pursuit of Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt.

The initial rumours began back in January courtesy of Sky Sports’ Florian Plettenberg. At the time, the centre-half was out of favour under Thomas Tuchel, and Bayern had begun targeting Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo, who has also been linked with United.

Speculation has died down since then. Partly due to the winter window closing but also because De Ligt has worked his way back into the starting 11 in recent months; by December 20, he had completed just one full 90 in the Bundesliga.

In Bayern’s last 11 outings in the league, the 24-year-old has started and played the entirety of the matches in nine of them. He was benched for February’s 3-0 loss to Leverkusen and suspended for March’s draw with Freiburg. 

Tuchel’s restored faith in De Ligt has led to his morale being boosted, therefore making him more comfortable with staying at the Allianz long-term and damaging United’s chances of sanctioning a deal this summer.

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.

De Ligt addresses speculation on Bayern exit

Alas, the decision would ultimately hinge on De Ligt. He recently addressed the prospect when asked whether he or prolific attacker Jamal Musiala could move at the end of the campaign, joking: “Where to go? On holiday?

“But no, I don’t think so,” he continued. “I hope for us and for Bayern that we’ll both stay. That’s what I’m assuming, too. I’m not yet where I want to be with the national team, but that also has to do with injuries. As a player, you always want to play.

“We have a lot of good centre-backs. Ultimately, top football is about competing with many good defenders. You have to be there for the matches you get.”