Arsenal and Man Utd on alert as target demands transfer

Tom Weber

• Updated: 19 Jan 2024 17:52 GMT
• 3 min read

Matthijs de Ligt would be open to leaving Bayern Munich in the summer, according to German media.

The Dutch defender only signed for Bayern for a whopping €67 million in 2022, but his time at the Allianz Arena is slowly but surely coming to an end already. Not particularly favoured by head coach Thomas Tuchel, De Ligt is not considered a guaranteed starter when all of the Bavarians' defenders are available.

Right now, the 24-year-old is very important to Bayern as Kim Min-jae is at the Asian Cup, but once the South Korean returns, De Ligt could again be relegated to the role of an onlooker, something the ambitious centre-back is obviously not happy with. Indeed, according to Sky Germany, De Ligt will demand a summer transfer should his situation not improve.

Bayern would be more than happy to grant his wish as he would help raise the necessary funds to pursue Barcelona star Ronald Araujo, the reigning Bundesliga champions' priority target for the defence. The transfer fee De Ligt will fetch is not yet known, but it will likely be in excess of his current Estimated Transfer Value of €54 million as he is still under contract until 2027.

Man Utd and Arsenal keen

The latest reports out of Germany indicate that De Ligt has informed the Bayern hierarchy of his wish to move on in the summer, which is good news for Arsenal and Manchester United. Both Premier League giants have been credited with an interest in the Dutchman in recent weeks.

A January move is out of the question unless, miraculously, one of them can stump up an outrageous transfer fee - unlikely given their Financial Fair Play concerns - but it could be a different story in the next transfer window. Man Utd will have the sizeable funds of Sir Jim Ratcliffe at their disposal then.

Erik ten Hag, of course, is intimately familiar with De Ligt, having overseen his emergence as one of the best defenders in Europe at Ajax. However, the Gunners are also said to be keen, likely due to the fact that Gabriel Magalhaes could be courted by Saudi sides again in the summer.