Manchester United make breakthrough in bid to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich

Manchester United have made a breakthrough in their attempt to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich, according to reports in Germany.

United are looking to sign at least one centre-back before the start of the new Premier League season and the club have been in talks for several weeks to bring De Ligt to Old Trafford.

It’s understood that Erik ten Hag has already spoken to De Ligt about a move to United and the Netherlands international is open to a move to the Premier League.

Ten Hag is said to have remained a huge admirer of De Ligt having worked with him for just over one season at Ajax.

Bayern, meanwhile, have been holding out for a €50 million (£42m) transfer fee for the 24-year-old.

According to Bild, United are now close to reaching an agreement with Bayern as the Premier League club have indicated that they are willing to meet De Ligt’s asking price.

The report adds that United want to complete a deal for De Ligt as quickly as possible once the Netherlands’ Euro 2024 campaign is over.

De Ligt is part of the Netherlands squad but is yet to make an appearance at the tournament.

Last season, De Ligt started just 16 games for Bayern and the Bundesliga club are open to a sale as they are keen to sign Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Jonathan Tah this summer.

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.’

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