And they appear in pole position to sign De Ligt with the player himself supposedly keen.
Yet United have an ace up their sleeve that the Catalan giants and the rest of Europe’s elite do not.
And that is regular football.
Would De Ligt really be a regular at Barcelona right from the start? Obviously, there is no denying the talent of the teenager.
But Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet appear a solid pairing at the back and the notoriously cautious Ernesto Valverde may be reluctant to tinker with that.
Man Utd and Barcelona are fighting for Ajax star Matthijs de Ligt (Image: GETTY)
Man Utd target Matthijs de Ligt may replace Samuel Umtiti on the Barcelona bench (Image: GETTY)
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