Manchester United have not been renowned for making smart decisions in the transfer market. 2024 is different.
Matthijs de Ligt has completed his move to Manchester United, with the centre-back’s arrival announced along with Bayern Munich teammate Noussair Mazraoui.
In recent seasons Manchester United have been criticised for ‘buying high’. See the £85 million fee paid for Antony, or the £80 million spent on Harry Maguire.
Now, United are course-correcting, pulling off arguably the best signing of the summer transfer window when you consider quality and price.
Matthijs de Ligt fee
Manchester United have paid £38 million for Matthijs de Ligt, making him just the fifth most expensive centre-back signed by the club.
He also ranks a lowly 16th in terms of the club’s most expensive ever signings, cheaper than Fred, for instance.
This is impressive business considering the fees De Ligt has generated so far in his short career.
Juventus paid £67.5 million for De Ligt in 2019, and Bayern Munich paid £65.6 million for him in 2022.
This means Manchester United have paid Bayern just 58 per cent of the fee they bought De Ligt for.
And then when you calculate the £171.1 million total fees Matthijs de Ligt has generated in his career, Manchester United have paid just 22 per cent towards this total figure.
Add-ons could later raise the fee by a further £4 million, but it won’t change the fact Manchester United have secured a bargain or matter much to the above calculations.
What Manchester United are getting
Manchester United are getting a player Bayern Munich supporters regard as their best centre-back, ahead of Kim Min-Jae and Dayot Upamecano.
This is what makes United’s deal so striking. De Ligt had three years on his Bayern deal left to run, and essentially forced his own exit by demanding to make the switch to Old Trafford, even giving up Champions League football in the process.
United are buying a leader, a defender who has won league titles in the Netherlands, Italy and Germany, a player who captained Ajax as a teenager, and became the youngest debutant for his country since 1945.
Another record saw him become the youngest captain in the Champions League knockout rounds.
De Ligt was the 2018 Golden Boy winner, and has continued to amass huge experience playing for top clubs in Serie A and the Bundesliga.
De Ligt is still a £60 million player, who United have somehow managed to land at a major discount.
In addition to his 45 international caps, De Ligt has 307 career club appearances to his name, managing to contribute 26 goals from centre-back along the way. 42 of his appearances have come in the Champions League.
Still only 25, the Dutchman’s best years are ahead of him, and he could start to play some of his best football of his career under a manager who believes in him, with teammates he knows and trusts, including goalkeeper Andre Onana.
£38 million is a superb deal, a low cost gamble on a player who is really worth almost double. For once, Manchester United have bought at the right time, pinpointing value, and it is great to see.
While Erik ten Hag has evidently had a hand in signing his former player, Ineos‘ fingerprints are all over this deal, agreeing it was great value and an opportunity to sign one of Europe’s top centre-backs for a bargain price.
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