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Manchester United have agreed a £42m fee with Bayern Munich for Matthijs de Ligt and are set to make the Netherlands defender their third summer signing.
De Ligt, who captained the Ajax team Erik ten Hag took to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019, is likely to become the second centre-back United have bought this year, after Leny Yoro.
The 24-year-old has been a target throughout the transfer window and United, who were reluctant to pay a huge fee, reached a breakthrough in talks with Bayern.
The German club will make a loss on De Ligt, selling him for an initial €45m, plus a further €5m in add-ons, after buying him for €67m from Juventus in 2022.
De Ligt lost his place in the Bayern team last season, with competition from Dayot Upamecano, Kim Min-jae and Eric Dier, and his now set to leave the Allianz Arena.
He is likely to be joined at Old Trafford by his Bayern teammate Noussair Mazraoui, who is linked up to replace Aaron Wan-Bissaka if the right-back completes his move to West Ham.
Mazraoui, who has entered the final year of his contract at Bayern, would cost an initial €15m and would also offer cover at left-back as well as being able to operate on the right.
Should De Ligt sign, United would have six senior centre-backs, which could lead to Victor Lindelof leaving, though Yoro will miss the first three months of the campaign due to injury.
Ten Hag made De Ligt Ajax’s youngest ever captain when he was a teenager. The centre-back then moved to Juventus for €75m in 2019 and he has now won league titles in three different countries.
