Ten Hag confirms Man Utd's De Ligt talks in revealing new interview

Milan Keskin

• 20 Jul 2024 09:00 BST
• 4 min read

Erik ten Hag has confirmed Manchester United's desire to sign Matthijs de Ligt in a fresh interview with Dutch media.

Despite the signing of Leny Yoro for up to €70 million on Thursday, De Ligt is still on the list at Man Utd. The defender is certainly keen on a move to Old Trafford, but the Red Devils have not yet been able to reach an agreement with Bayern Munich on the transfer fee.

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De Ligt has long been linked with United, where he can work with the manager under whom he made his breakthrough at Ajax. The Manchester Evening News reported last week that the defender had already agreed personal terms with Ten Hag's side.

However, Bayern Munich are demanding in the region of €50m for the Dutchman, which is a sum Man Utd can't muster after signing Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee (for €42.5m) without selling players first. According to Sky Germany, the deal is currently off because of this, but Man Utd remain keen on signing a second new centre-back this summer and could revive the talks later in the window.

Ten Hag confirms talks

If it were up to Ten Hag, he would soon greet De Ligt at the Carrington training ground: “I know Matthijs well, of course, I am not going to deny that," he told Algemeen Dagblad. "I wanted to sign him two years ago, but he was already close to Bayern Munich. But believe it or not, his name wasn't specifically suggested by me in this process."

Regarding the Red Devils' renewed interest, he played coy, simply stating: “It remains to be seen whether De Ligt will come. But the great thing is, during my holiday I was away from the process for three or four weeks. During that period it was really the club, the newly established scouting and recruitment department, that brought in these players.”

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According to Ten Hag, the fact that Dutch players are being targeted and signed is a coincidence: “Primarily, these were players who were suggested by our organization. But of course, I support it, let that be clear. And we still make the choice together.”

Ten Hag already brought a Dutchman to Manchester this summer with Joshua Zirkzee. The coach knows that this is not uncontroversial. “But," Ten Hag insists, "ultimately the criterion that prevails above all else is: is the player good or not good?"

"Does he fit in terms of character, age and of course the quality we are looking for? I also understand that if you don't win, such [a negative] image will be magnified in the media. But [it's irrelevant] whether a player has blonde, red or black hair, whether he comes from the Netherlands, Sweden or France.”