Romano drops key update on Man Utd and Arsenal pursuit of De Ligt

Tom Weber

13 Feb 2024 10:53 GMT
3 min read

Matthijs de Ligt, Fabrizio Romano — © IMAGO

Fabrizio Romano has delivered a major update on the future of Matthijs de Ligt.

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The Bayern Munich star is on his way out, the weekend again illustrating that the Dutchman does not have a future in Bavaria. Despite doing well while Kim Min-jae was at the Asian Cup, De Ligt did not keep his place for the potentially title-deciding clash with Bayer Leverkusen, in which Bayern were smashed 3-0.

The future of the 24-year-old has been up in the air for a while. Not favoured by head coach Thomas Tuchel despite being signed in 2022 for a whopping €67 million, De Ligt has made it clear in recent weeks that he wants to leave Munich in the summer.

This has put Europe's elite on red alert. Despite perhaps not quite reaching the levels he was tipped for as a youngster, De Ligt is still an elite centre-back on his day and a very useful asset to have. Arsenal and Man Utd have both been heavily linked and FootballTransfers exclusively revealed on Monday that the latter are believed to be the favourites to land him, with former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag likely to play a key role.

Too early to discuss a transfer

Now, Fabrizio Romano has given his thoughts on the situation, reiterating the interest from the two English giants but insisting that it's too early for any concrete negotiations. “Matthijs de Ligt remains a player to watch for this summer," he told CaughtOffside.

"There have been rumours linking him with Man United but that’s an obvious link to make as he has a good connection with Erik ten Hag going back to their Ajax days, but guys there’s nothing in this so far. Man United’s business in the summer transfer market will depend on the new director of football."

"We are still waiting for an announcement on that, so it’s too early to say or speculate on whether the Red Devils will make a move for De Ligt. Arsenal are looking into defenders for the summer it’s true, but their preferred targets are not something that’s been decided upon yet either."