Man Utd make transfer decision on Ten Hag reunion with De Ligt

Tom Weber

Updated: 12 Jun 2024 15:22 CDT
4 min read

Erik ten Hag, Man Utd, Matthijs de Ligt — © IMAGO

Manchester United will not pursue Matthijs de Ligt this summer, according to a report.

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The Bayern Munich centre-back has been officially put on the market by the German giants due to their need to raise funds for another summer of big spending. The Bavarians have triggered the €30 million release clause of Stuttgart defender Hiroki Ito and are still pursuing Bayer Leverkusen star Jonathan Tah.

It's not just the defence that the Bavarians want to strengthen under new boss Vincent Kompany either. To make the necessary resources available, De Ligt and five high-profile teammates, including Joshua Kimmich and Serge Gnabry, have been made available for transfer.

Dutchman De Ligt is coming off a strange season. Initially not favoured by then-coach Thomas Tuchel, he eventually came into the team - and impressed - once the tactician's end-of-season departure was confirmed. Speculation surrounding the centre-back's future has been rampant for months.

Arsenal and Man Utd have been linked, but it seems that the Red Devils will not make a move despite De Ligt having previously starred under Erik ten Hag at Ajax.

Man Utd don't have the money

According to Ben Jacobs, Man Utd won't pursue the 24-year-old quite simply because he would be too expensive. While Bayern are aware that they likely won't be able to recoup their original €67m outlay, they know that De Ligt is an attractive player who can fetch a pretty penny.

Man Utd, despite the investment of INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe, will be operating on a tight budget this summer and the financial package required to land De Ligt is beyond their means.

Bayern are yet to set a firm price tag for De Ligt and Vincent Kompany is expected to hold face-to-face talks with the defender once he reports for pre-season after Euro 2024, hence why little in the way of a concrete approach from interested clubs has as yet materialised.