It looked like this would finally be a Manchester United window without a saga after two signings were secured quickly but we ultimately have one.
Matthijs de Ligt’s transfer saga has dominated the headlines this summer, with the chase getting more priority since Leny Yoro’s injury in pre-season.
The addition of Noussair Mazaroui to the picture added another dimension to the whole saga that has dragged on for weeks now with non-update “updates”, conflicting stories, and briefs from both sides.
Now, it looks like United have had enough and are ready to take an extraordinary step to conclude this saga.
Man Utd’s go nuclear in Matthijs de Ligt transfer chase
Ineos faced the issue of selling teams levying “United tax” whenever they have approached clubs for players this summer.
Things reached a head with the Manuel Ugarte deal, which they pulled out of recently to move to other targets as Paris Saint-Germain refused to budge from their demands.
It is a necessary step to fix one of Glazers’ biggest problems at Man Utd and Ineos sent a strong message with that move.
That message could be about to be reinforced, on a much bigger level, if recent reports are to be believed.
GIVEMESPORT reports that United are finally threatening to walk away from a deal for De Ligt if Bayern don’t budge from their demands in a repeat of the Ugarte saga.
They are exasperated at Bayern’s stance, especially since the Bavarians have already told the player he is not in new head coach Vincent Kompany’s plans.
Furthermore, United are the only interested party and the player only wants to join United, so Bayern effectively asking the club to bid against itself repeatedly is not something the higher-ups at Old Trafford want to entertain.
After having an initial bid rejected, United also made a double offer for both him and Mazraoui that was also rejected, which was treated with bemusement by United officials.
Bayern have a deal of their own contingent on De Ligt’s sale in Jonathan Tah so their stubborn stance in delaying every domino from falling is frustrating for United, hence their readiness to take this nuclear step.
A negotiating brief?
When United pulling out of negotiations for Ugarte was reported, it had a qualifier to it that the club wasn’t ending their interest, just walking away until PSG leave room for negotiations.
Something similar could be happening in this case so this report might well be a message to Bayern to strengthen United’s position in negotiations.
Links to Ugarte’s alternatives have already started cropping up, with Sander Berge headlining the list, but no such thing has happened in De Ligt’s case.
This makes it clear that United still prioritise the Dutch international, but they want to flip the “bullied in the transfer market” tag on its head.
United haven’t had a great reputation in the market ever since Sir Alex Ferguson left, with the list of expensive flops far longer than successful transfers.
To bring balance to that, Ineos have been working hard this summer, and putting out briefs like these could just be part and parcel of negotiations in the bigger picture.
If not, they better have a list of alternatives to De Ligt too, as United’s centre-back situation is clearly fragile enough to warrant additional reinforcements after Leny Yoro.
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