Manchester United have offered Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt a five-year contract worth £10.3million-a-year, according to Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Nicolo Schira.
The Italian reporter claimed via his personal Twitter account on Sunday that United have made a bold move to try to bring de Ligt – who was immense for Ajax last season – in from Amsterdam by offering him a long-term deal that would bag him approximately £200,000-a-week.
#ManchesterUnited are interested in #DeLigt from Ajax for €85M. #RedDevils want to anticipate #Barcelona (refused to pay €15M to his agent, but are favourite because have an agreement with #Ajax) and offered to him a contract until 2024 (€12M at year). #transfers #MUFC #mutd
— Nicolò Schira (@NicoSchira) May 26, 2019
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is said to be keen to bring in a new defender as part of a mass overhaul of the squad, having taken over at Old Trafford on a permanent basis earlier this year but could face competition from Barcelona in pursuit of Dutch star de Ligt.
OPINION
Well, well well. If this report is true, it’s a very bold move from United. It is no secret that the Red Devils want a new defender this summer and that part of the pitch is one of the most crucial for Solskjaer to work on. It seems as if the Norwegian manager – and Ed Woodward – are not messing around with trying to bring a world-class addition to plug the gaps in the defence. There is simply no doubting that De Ligt would improve United. Despite only being 19, he is the Ajax captain and looks a born leader, shown by his prowess in leading the Amsterdam club to the Champions League semi-finals last season with several fantastic performances. If it is true that this contract offer has been tabled, it looks as though it has been thoroughly thought out by United and that they are fully prepared to do all they can to bring him in.