Former Bayern Munich star Oliver Kahn has given his verdict on Matthijs de Ligt’s potential move to Manchester United.
Netherlands international Matthijs de Ligt is expected to follow Joshua Zirkzee to Manchester United, with Sky Sports reporting the club is working on the transfer.
De Ligt signed for Bayern Munich from Juventus in 2022, where he won the Bundesliga title in his first season in Germany.
One of the men who played a part in bringing De Ligt to the club was legendary goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, Bayern’s CEO at the time, before he was ousted in 2023.
Kahn expresses De Ligt surprise
Oliver Kahn was quoted via German channel Sport1 expressing his admiration for the Dutchman, and his regret at how the centre-back had not quite hit the peaks he believes he is capable of.
Kahn explained: “I think incredibly highly of Matthijs”, adding that he sees him as “a guy who can grow into a leadership role.”
“Unfortunately, he was repeatedly set back by injuries,” Kahn added.
He went on to say: “We thought he would grow into the role that David Alaba played. Unfortunately, that doesn’t look like the case at the moment.”
Bayern are weighing up various options in the transfer market as they reflect on a difficult season where they failed to win the Bundesliga title, and have just appointed Vincent Kompany.
Kahn wants the German side to carefully examine their situation, adding: “They will certainly give a lot of thought, and hopefully good thought, to why things are the way they are.”
Latest on De Ligt to Manchester United
Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg has provided his latest update on Matthijs de Ligt to Manchester United.
And he indicates the hold-up is at Manchester United’s end, with Bayern awaiting a new offer.
He posted on X: “FC Bayern are still waiting for the final and concrete offer from Manchester United for Matthijs de Ligt! There were no concrete negotiations in the last 72 hours.
“The agreement between de Ligt and #MUFC still stands with the 24 y/o still keen to join ManUtd now.”
We will see if United can make progress with this over the coming days. Ideally there will be more new faces on board before the pre-season tour.
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