- 13 hours ago
‘Dier is playing ahead of him’ - Man Utd warned off De Ligt
Jacque Talbot
- Updated: 8 Aug 2024 15:47 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has aired his concerns about his former club buying Matthijs de Ligt.
The Bayern Munich defender is thought to be the man who has been chosen as Man Utd's second centre-back signing, but talks with Bayern Munich have proved difficult. A joint bid for the Dutchman and teammate Noussair Mazraoui was launched last week but swiftly rejected by the Germans.
Bayern want at least €50m for De Ligt but Man Utd can not afford that at the moment. Victor Lindelof is frustrating their pursuit.
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The Red Devils bolstered their defence earlier this summer by signing highly-rated prospect Leny Yoro for €70 million. However, the club's strategy always involved securing a second top-tier centre-back as well as the Frenchman this summer.
Current ETV
Matthijs de Ligt
D (C)
Bayern
Matthijs de Ligt
D (C)
Bayern
ETV Range
€40.9M - €68.2M
Yoro's unfortunate foot injury is expected to sideline him for three months and this has heightened the need for reinforcements.
De Ligt looked set to leave Bayern for Old Trafford but the German club have remained steadfast in their valuation of him.
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But Scholes has stated that Man Utd should not be attempting to sign De Ligt regardless, saying on The Overlap: "At Bayern Munich, he's not playing for them. That's a big concern for me especially when Eric Dier is playing ahead of him.
"Juventus got rid of him, he wasn't good enough for them. He's not been good enough for Bayern, and he's coming to us almost like a second-rated defender, but he might be a good signing. Don't get me wrong."
Juventus bought De Ligt from Ajax but still managed to recoup most of their initial investment when Bayern snapped the centre-back up for €67m in 2022.
At Bayern, De Ligt was frozen out by Thomas Tuchel. Bayern signed Kim Min-jae last summer and then Eric Dier in January and De Ligt saw his minutes significantly reduced, although this was partly because of a run of injuries.
