Manchester United reportedly have a potential deal in place to sign a star who Edwin van de Sar once compared to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Man Utd and Ratcliffe making transfer moves
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS officially secured their first signing as co-owners of the Red Devils, with forward Joshua Zirkzee arriving from Bologna.
Their second addition of the window looks set to be Leny Yoro, who is on course to join in a €50m+ deal, meaning Yoro and Zirkzee look set to replace the departed Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial.
The 18-year-old only had 12 months remaining on his contract, but United are willing to splash the cash on his services with Real Madrid waiting in the wings to sign him for free next year.
Another centre-back who has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford is Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt. Talks were reportedly advanced and the Red Devils were ready to pay the £42m asking price, and a new update has emerged after the development on Yoro.
Man Utd have potential deal in place to sign Matthijs de Ligt
The Faithful MUFC relayed an update from Thursday’s print edition of The Telegraph, reporting Man Utd’s move for Yoro. They claim that the Red Devils remain in the market for another central defender after Yoro and "have a potential deal in place" to sign De Ligt from Bayern.
De Ligt, who was included in the Netherlands squad for Euro 2024 alongside Zirkzee, has been with Bayern since 2022 after previous stints with Juventus and Ajax. Under contract until 2027, it appears as if Bayern Munich and new manager Vincent Kompany are happy to cash in on the defender, who has been hailed for his mentality in recent years.
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Talking back in 2019, former Ajax chief executive and ex-Man Utd ’keeper Van de Sar compared De Ligt to Ronaldo, saying about the centre-back after he signed for Juventus “He had been all his life at Ajax. So to step away, move with your girlfriend and the family to a different city, a different language. But his mentality and the way he wants to improve. He wants to be the best defender in the world. And I've seen that with a few players. One of them is playing in the same team, Cristiano Ronaldo.
“When I played at Man United with him, he had the same desire and attitude to work hard, to become better every training. And that's the same mentality and hunger as Matthijs de Ligt.”