Manchester United could make a shock move for Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt in the summer. The Red Devils were one of the many clubs pursuing the signature of de Ligt last summer, but the 20-year-old chose to move to the Italian club from Ajax.
But, it hasn’t yet gone the way he would’ve hoped for, and Daily Star are reporting that the English club could add midfielder Paul Pogba in any deal to bring the Dutchman to Old Trafford. The report states that Manchester United are primarily interested in recouping as much of the £90 million they paid Juventus to bring Pogba to Manchester United, but they would be interested in a player+cash deal as well.
The Red Devils would reportedly be willing to pay the £180,000 wage that Matthijs de Ligt earns per week at Juventus. The Dutch defender moved to Juventus in a €75 million deal, and his current contract at the club expires in 2024.
Matthijs de Ligt: The ideal player for Solskjaer?
Manchester United strengthened their defence significantly last summer, with the additions of Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and both of them have done well in their debut season at Old Trafford. United’s defence has been pretty strong in the 2019-20 season, but they could perhaps use another centre back, to solidify it further as they look to mount a title challenge in the coming seasons.
Victor Lindelof has been decent as a central defender alongside Harry Maguire, but the options after them in central defence – Eric Bailly and Phil Jones, have either been injured or in terrible form. The decision to sign Matthijs de Ligt could be a very good one as he is a player with tremendous ability and leadership skills at the ripe age of 20 and someone who could go on to form a terrific partnership with Maguire.
The Dutch defender is strong, physical, good on the ball and aerially superior than most in the game. He is a good passer of the ball from deep while he also likes to bring the ball out from defence. While Ole has mostly set his team up to play on the counter, with players like Bruno Fernandes available, he will want players who can complement the highly skilled midfielder into playing a more assertive brand of football.
His leadership skills could also be a great boon to this Manchester United side, who have been lacking strong voices in the dressing room in recent seasons.