The defense was always a worry for Manchester United last season. Therefore, Manchester United tickets agree that despite their side being in the lead, their defenses let them down on several occasions, leading to defeat.
This time around, Erik Ten Hag is adamant about signing a few of his team’s best defenders.
His first is Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich.
Matthijs de Ligt Signed
Manchester United agreed to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich.
The move will be worth €50m (£42.9m), with an initial €45m (£38.6m) plus €5m (£4.3m) in add-ons.
The transfer is subject to De Ligt passing a medical, with personal terms not expected to be a problem.
The defender must be registered by midday on Thursday to be available for Manchester United’s opening Premier League match against Fulham on Friday.
They are expected to proceed with that move once Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s transfer to West Ham has been completed.
The clubs are now close to an agreement on all aspects of a deal for the defender. Wan-Bissaka’s exit terms were still under discussion, but those are now thought to be okay.
All parties have increased confidence that the deal will go through. De Ligt would be United’s second center-back signing of the summer after the £59m arrival of Leny Yoro.
The 18-year-old impressed in his pre-season debut against Rangers but faces a three-month stint on the sidelines after suffering a foot injury against Arsenal.
United’s defense was ravaged by injuries last season, and that crisis has spilled into this campaign. It wasn’t the most pleasing sight for any fan with Manchester United tickets seeing their new signing, Leny Yoro, ruled out in the preseason.
With this chaotic situation, signing the Bayern star will help United manage its resources better.
With Yoro and Tyrell Malacia already ruled out, the United manager may have to give substantial minutes to Lisandro Martinez and Diogo Dalot, who are yet to feature in pre-season.
“I do not know if Matthijs de Ligt has shown 60 to 80 percent of his potential,” Erik ten Hag said back in 2019. “But we are talking about one of the best defenders in Europe, and I do not doubt that he will soon be number one in this position.”
De Ligt was 19 then and Ten Hag’s captain at Ajax on their run to the brink of the Champions League final. He had been 17 when becoming the youngest player to feature in a Europa League final and departed, still a teenager, having made 100 senior appearances.
There was little doubt that he was bound for more glory at Juventus and beyond. Ten Hag, speaking more broadly about young Ajax players, name-checked De Ligt as one with “a certain invincible feeling” about them. He was a sure thing.
However, the player now being pursued by Manchester United is at a slightly different stage of his career.
His time in Turin was no more than a qualified success. At Bayern Munich, his form dipped, losing his place in the side for both club and country.
And yet, there is optimism. At 24, there is still time for him to come again. De Ligt retains the fundamentals. There is a belief that if his old coach becomes his new one, the best years could be ahead of him. Ten Hag could help to rediscover his potential.
United in a Midfielder Dilemma
Manchester United have encountered the same problem in their attempts to sign a midfielder this summer, despite switching targets to Sander Berge.
United have been keen to land a central midfielder in the summer transfer window after making an early double splash for Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro. They had initially been determined to make Paris Saint-Germain’s Manuel Ugarte their next major window signing but have been frustrated by the French club’s negotiating stance.
PSG only signed Ugarte from Sporting Lisbon last year for £51.1m and wants to make a profit on any sale, even after landing Joao Neves for £60m from Benfica.
United decided to move on to the more affordable Sander Berge—a player they have long admired—yet Burnley is playing a similar game, albeit with lower stakes, to PSG.
The Sun reports that after contacting Berge’s representatives, they were informed that the Clarets wanted £30m for the Norway international. United is only willing to pay £20m for the midfielder, who was signed by Sheffield United for £12m last summer.
Burnley were relegated from the Premier League last season, and Berge is keen to move back up a division. Yet the demotion strengthens their hand, with Scott Parker’s side able to point to a £100m parachute payment as a reason they don’t need to sell their star midfielder.
Erik ten Hag has made it clear that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the new executives he has appointed are on the same page regarding new additions. After months of riff-raff, the fans with Manchester United tickets are finally siding with the manager in the pre-season, hoping he can turn around the club this season.
But with moves for Bayern Munich pair Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui also on the horizon, things could be more complicated.
“This new leadership team is eager to do business, to make deals, and they are on it,” Ten Hag said recently. “But if the timing is there we have to make it. If the opportunities are there. I don’t know, I can’t say at this moment, but I am sure when they are there, they will go for it.”
The Move for Berge is linked to the future of Scott McTominay, which Fulham is strongly interested in. The London side has had three bids rejected for the Scotland international and has yet to decide whether they will meet United’s valuation.
United wants a £30m package if they sell McTominay. Due to profit and sustainability concerns, McTominay has been made available for transfer alongside Jadon Sancho, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Casemiro, and Victor Lindelof. While United has pressed ahead with the moves for Zirkzee and Yoro, they know they need to make some sales to balance the books.
With the new management, fans of Manchester United tickets know that the club does not want to make mistakes by overspending on players who eventually disappoint.
Over the years, the club has paid exorbitant amounts to players such as Paul Pogba, Antony, and Romelu Lukaku—all of whom have produced below-par performances.
