Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag appears in a strong position to negotiate with Bayern Munich this summer after being linked with a move for Matthijs de Ligt. The Dutch centre back appears on the verge of leaving the Bundesliga club, despite having three years left on his current deal.
Ten Hag has previously made no secret of his admiration for the 24-year-old, having worked with him at Ajax before De Ligt left for Juventus in 2019.
And according to Bild, United are reportedly preparing a £55m bid for centre back following the departure of Raphael Varane at the end of last season.
New Bayern boss Vincent Kompany has already publicly disclosed just how highly he rates Ten Hag, a notion that is likely to exacerbate the possibility of a favour in the transfer market. And selling De Ligt to United would also mean the Bundesliga club avoid losing him to one of their domestic or Champions League rivals.
Having come up against Ten Hag’s United side when in charge of Burnley last season, the Belgian’s appraisal of the 54-year-old suggests he’s unlikely to be difficult when it comes to negotiating transfers. “I’ve witnessed some of the best playing teams I’ve ever played against as a manager and that I’ve seen in my whole career,” said Kompany, before the sides drew 1-1 at Old Trafford in April.
“So when his team at Ajax were playing, it was something special. It wasn’t something you could attribute to a team of that age because there were really young or the financial resources, it was incredible.
“They were up there with the best teams I’ve ever seen play. You know most of those teams in recent times have been associated with Pep (Guardiola). Of course, there were other managers as well. He was one of them, you know for sure.”
It was during a dramatic 2018/19 Champions League campaign that Kompany, then captain of Manchester City, narrowly missed out on a semi-final against Ten Hag’s Ajax. And despite being criticised for an apparent lack of a plan since taking over United in the summer of 2022, Kompany argued that Ten Hag was astute with tactics as well as handling players.
“He’s had some reference teams for many other coaches in the world,” he added. "He wasn’t just about good players, he was about the ideas behind the teams and what they were doing. All of his advice was to be seen in games, what was happening in games.”
Kompany has already set about overhauling his new squad, with Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise set to join in a £50m deal. But it’s the signing signing Hiroki Ito from Stuttgart that has seemingly prompted the club to let De Ligt go.
The Belgian already has central defenders Dayot Upamecano, Eric Dier, and Minjae Kim at his disposal. But with De Ligt currently on international duty with Holland at Euro 2024, Ten Hag will need to remain patient in his pursuit with the Dutch having qualified for the knockout stages.
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Mattias de Ligt is currently on national duty at Euro 2024. (Image: Getty)
“They were up there with the best teams I’ve ever seen play. You know most of those teams in recent times have been associated with Pep (Guardiola). Of course, there were other managers as well. He was one of them, you know for sure.”
It was during a dramatic 2018/19 Champions League campaign that Kompany, then captain of Manchester City, narrowly missed out on a semi-final against Ten Hag’s Ajax. And despite being criticised for an apparent lack of a plan since taking over United in the summer of 2022, Kompany argued that Ten Hag was astute with tactics as well as handling players.
“He’s had some reference teams for many other coaches in the world,” he added. "He wasn’t just about good players, he was about the ideas behind the teams and what they were doing. All of his advice was to be seen in games, what was happening in games.”
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The Belgian already has central defenders Dayot Upamecano, Eric Dier, and Minjae Kim at his disposal. But with De Ligt currently on international duty with Holland at Euro 2024, Ten Hag will need to remain patient in his pursuit with the Dutch having qualified for the knockout stages.
