Manchester United’s desire to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich isn’t new news. The club have been extensively linked with the Dutch centre-back. We even covered a story from the Telegraph stating that the club had a deal in place to sign the 24-year-old.
The issue with the ex-Juventus defender isn’t personal terms. The player is keen on reuniting with his former boss, Erik ten Hag but the Germans seem to be playing hardball in the negotiations despite Man Utd’s continuous persistence.
Read – Ten Hag now prepared to make £40million star third Man Utd signing – Report
According to Bild, Bayern are demanding a fee in the range of €50m plus €10m add-ons to part ways with the Ajax academy graduate.
The Red Devils don’t want to meet the asking price and have instead resorted to a clever alternative. They are now playing a ‘double poker game’ and are ready to ‘disrupt’ a major deal of Die Roten.
Man Utd, in an attempt to seemingly force the Allianz outfit’s hand, have enquired to sign Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah, who dreams of moving to the Premier League.
Interestingly, the 28-year-old is the Bavarian’s priority target and Man Utd are trying to throw a spanner in the works by attempting to poach him.
Munich have personal terms agreed with the Bundesliga winner until 2029. However, their first offer of under €20m has been rebuffed by Leverkusen, who are holding out for €40m (£34million). Moreover, should a club from abroad come in with an offer, Die Werkself would be willing to lower their asking price.
This has left Kompany’s side in a catch-22 situation. They are now stuck with a centre-back who doesn’t feature in their plans and not letting him leave could prevent them from signing Jonathan Tah, who is on top of their priority list.
This is a very clever negotiation tactic from Man Utd to move for Tah, something that might have come about from having a new sporting director at the helm. Now, the ball is in Munich side’s court and it’s up to them to make the next move.
Bild claim that the worst-case scenario for Bayern would be if they end up ‘stuck’ with de Ligt and their dream player, Tah, moves to United.
The Man Utd of old might have given in; and paid the asking price. However, it looks like under Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ownership, the club are set to do things differently. The longer they wait this out, the better the chances are for Bayern to budge in their negotiations.
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