Director comments on £68m Ten Hag favourite amid claims Man Utd are now in strong position to sign him

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Bayern Munich continue to play down rumours about Matthijs de Ligt’s future amid links with a move to Manchester United.

A major theme of the Erik ten Hag era at Manchester United has been his desire to sign players he has managed in the past.

Lisandro Martinez and Antony followed Ten Hag from Ajax to Old Trafford in the summer of 2022, completing big-money moves.

Andre Onana and Sofyan Amrabat also reunited with Ten Hag last summer having worked under him in the Netherlands.

That approach has drawn some criticism with some believing that Ten Hag has too much power in terms of signings, but another of his former players is now being linked.

Bayern Munich chief comments on Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt

Reports on Monday suggested that United are now in a strong position to sign Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt.

Talks have allegedly been held with De Ligt’s representatives just over 18 months since his huge £68million move from Juventus to Bayern.

The Dutchman was outstanding last season but he has managed just eight Bundesliga starts so far this term.

De Ligt seems to be out of favour under Thomas Tuchel, sparking hopes of United pouncing to reunite him with Ten Hag at Old Trafford.

An unused substitute against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, the 24-year-old is even behind new signing Eric Dier in the pecking order.

De Ligt cannot continue in this situation for much longer but sporting director Christoph Freund has now told Kicker’s Georg Holzner that he thinks De Ligt is a ‘top professional’.

Freund understands De Ligt’s disappointment but maintains that Bayern are happy to have him at the club, playing down any fear of a summer exit.

“Of course it was a disappointment for him, but we are happy to have him with us. We have a lot of competition. Matthijs knows this, he handles it professionally, is a top professional,” said Freund.

Manchester United will surely add centre backs this summer

We still think that United have a genuine chance of signing De Ligt if his role remains diminished and Ten Hag remains in charge.

De Ligt would be a massive addition at the back and would make sense as the right-footed, long-term partner for Martinez.

Raphael Varane is out of contract this summer and Ten Hag will likely view his former Ajax defender De Ligt as an upgrade on Harry Maguire.

United will surely bring in at least one new centre back; a top-tier right-footed option like De Ligt and a younger, left-footer to compete with injury-prone Martinez – such as Jarrad Branthwaite – could make sense.

That would set United back a fair wedge in the transfer market but these are important addition for now and the future and must be explored ahead of the summer window.