MANCHESTER UNITED have agreed a deal to sign Matthijs de Ligt – and have moved a step closer to bringing in Noussair Mazraoui.
United have looked to bolster their defence this summer after Raphael Varane’s exit and Harry Maguire’s future looking in doubt.
They signed Leny Yoro for £52million from Lille but the 18-year-old faces three months out after picking up a pre-season foot injury.
De Ligt has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester and now they have moved a step closer to striking a deal.
Because the Red Devils have agreed an initial £38.5million with Bayern Munich for De Ligt – with a further £4.2m in add ons.
De Ligt is now set for a medical before signing a five-year deal that includes the option to extend by an additional 12 months.
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The centre-back won the Dutch title with Ajax before making a move to Juventus in 2019 where he also lifted the Serie A.
After 117 appearances in Italy, De Ligt moved to Bayern in 2022 and also has a Bundesliga winners medal to his name.
But the German giants are ready to offload De Ligt and full-back Mazraoui.
Bayern also accepted a separate £16.8m proposal from United for Noussair Mazraoui in a piece of double business worth nearly £60m.
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Why De Ligt is the perfect Man Utd signing
By Lee Scott
One of Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag’s biggest headaches has been fixing their leaky defence.
Despite still not being anywhere near his peak years De Ligt has built considerable experience so far in his career with Ajax, Juventus and Bayern Munich and he has 45 caps at senior level for the Dutch national team.
While he is not necessarily a highly modern ball playing type of defensive player he is a player with the defensive strengths and instincts to help shore up a United defence that was, at best, leaky last season.
He has a great ability to read the game which was one of the biggest issues that we saw from the United defensive unit last season.
De Ligt is also a master in one-on-one situations, who shows strength and intensity in his duels.
The Dutch star does a good job in keeping things simple and tends to make good decisions in possession.
The pursuit of Matthijs de Ligt makes perfect sense for United and for Ten Hag as a young defender who is still to reach his peak.
He has considerable experience at a high level and he understands the game model and system of play of the manager.
Click here to read our full analysis on De Ligt joining Manchester United.
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A deal for the Moroccan – which will see them pay around £12.8m up front – has been in place for some weeks.
But it depends on Aaron Wan-Bissaka agreeing an exit after United accepted West Ham’s £15m offer.
Wan-Bissaka needs to finalise his termination at United but a medical with the Hammers is set for Sunday or Monday.
The Londoner made 22 appearances last season for United but has fallen out of favour with boss Erik ten Hag.
And as revealed by SunSport, he wants a multi-million pound pay-off from United to leave this summer.
The 26-year-old has less than 12 months left on his contract at Old Trafford.
And he could bank a huge signing-on fee by staying put and leaving on a free transfer next summer.
Wan-Bissaka’s representatives are pushing for United to give the player a chunk of the £18m fee they will receive from West Ham in order to get the deal done this summer.
The former Crystal Palace defender has been on the same £90,000-a-week contract at United since he joined the club five years ago.
United’s double swoop of Bayern will take summer spending to around the £150million mark – with Joshua Zirkzee and Yoro already in place.
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And it suggests they have given up on their pursuit of Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite – who is valued at around £70m.
De Ligt and Mazraoui were both named on Bayern’s bench for a pre-season friendly at Tottenham despite closing in on exits.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
