According to reports, Erik ten Hag has informed Matthijs de Ligt of his intention to pair him with Lisandro Martinez at Manchester United.
The club is looking to sign at least one new center-back during the summer transfer window and has already engaged in discussions with Bayern Munich regarding De Ligt.
The 24-year-old defender is reportedly open to joining United, reuniting with Ten Hag, who coached him at Ajax for over a season.
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The Sunday Mirror states that Ten Hag has already talked to De Ligt about a possible transfer and shared his plans for the upcoming Premier League season.
Ten Hag envisions De Ligt partnering with Martinez in United’s central defense within a 4-3-3 formation.
Additionally, the newspaper notes that this plan relegates Harry Maguire, who was acquired from Leicester City for £80 million in 2019, to a lower position in the team’s hierarchy. Consequently, United is willing to consider offers for the 31-year-old defender.
United is reportedly confident about securing a deal with Bayern for De Ligt, who is currently preparing with the Netherlands squad for their Euro 2024 semi-final against England. Bayern is holding out for a €50m (£42m) fee for De Ligt, who made only 16 Bundesliga starts last season.
When asked about his future at Bayern last month, De Ligt said: ‘I’ve already said this is not the time for me to think about it.
‘We’re playing at the Euros now and that’s very important for me and the national team. That’s why I can’t say now what I think about this situation.
‘But what I can say is that I’ve now played my second season at Bayern – I’m very happy. For now I’m focused on the Euros and then we’ll see what happens.’
While seaking about De Ligt during their time together at Ajax in 2019, Ten Hag said: ‘I don’t know if De Ligt has shown 60-80 per cent of his potential.
‘But we are talking about one of the best defenders in Europe and I have no doubt that he will soon be number one in this position.’