Manchester United appear to be accelerating the pursuit to improve their backline after seeing new signing Leny Yoro be ruled out of action for three months. They appear to be focusing their efforts on Bayern Munich duo Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui.
Man Utd Launch Joint-Bid For Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui
How Did Bayern Munich Respond To United’s Offer?
The Athletic’s David Ornstein has reported that the Red Devils recently submitted a joint bid to sign both the Dutch defender and the Moroccan full-back from the Bundesliga heavyweights. It’s stated that the Premier League side wants to bolster their backline by signing both players and had optimism that their joint offer would get accepted.
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However, Ornstein claims that the offer was swiftly rejected by Bayern. The German club have told United that it would need a higher fee to reach an agreement over both players’ sales and that talks are continuing between the two sides. The journalist reports that both De Ligt and Mazraoui’s camps have been bemused to see the German club reject the offer.
It’s added that the Bavarians had told the player that they would reach a compromise to let the duo leave. Ornstein also reiterates that “personal terms already in place” between United and De Ligt as well as Mazraoui, who have agreed to five-year contract offers with the option to potentially extend for an extra sixth year.
Why Are United Keen On Both De Ligt and Mazraoui?
Even though the Red Devils have already improved their defensive structure with the signing of Yoro, they are still keen on adding more numbers to improve the depth in that area of the squad. This comes after they let both Raphael Varane and Willy Kambwala leave this summer and Aaron Wan-Bissaka is also reported to have agreed terms on a move to West Ham United.
De Ligt is basically being brought in to improve their centre-back options and act as Kambwala’s replacement, after Yoro went down injured after playing just two games.
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Mazraoui is a versatile full-back who can play in both the wide areas, which is probably why Erik ten Hag is so keen on reuniting with him. Both the defenders have the experience of playing under the Dutch coach at Ajax, having won the Eredivisie title under him and also being part of the team that reached the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League semi-final.
De Ligt has won league titles in his home country as well as Italy and Germany, with Mazraoui also winning league titles in the Netherlands and Germany. Both defenders have plenty of experience of playing in major European leaghues, which is why the Red Devils are pushing to sign them before the 2024/25 Premier League season begins.
