After a dismal 2023–24 campaign, Manchester United is hoping to bolster the club with some true talent.
A previous Golden Boy winner is the most recent star to be linked to a move to Old Trafford, and Manchester United will be looking to add proven talent to their team throughout the transfer window.
Rafael van der Vaart, who was born in 2003, took home the inaugural Golden Boy award. Since then, many gifted individuals have been honored with the title, including Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland.
However, Manchester United has their sights set on a different beneficiary for January as the Red Devils prepare a historic contract for the gifted player.
Manchester United is preparing a bid for Matthijs De Ligt, according to Sky Sports Germany. The Dutchman has fallen out of favor at Bayern Munich.
After spending £68 million on a five-year contract to join from Juventus in 2022, De Ligt had a great debut season, starting 27 Bundesliga games. However, Thomas Tuchel has pushed De Ligt lower on the hierarchy this term by favoring the combo of Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae. Additionally, Eric Dier recently moved to Bavaria, increasing the competition at center back.
Therefore, a transfer to Manchester United is feasible, especially in light of the fact that De Ligt was coached by Erik ten Hag at Ajax, where he was a 2018 Golden Boy Award winner for his center-back skills as a teenager and enjoyed the best season of his career.
At just 24 years old, De Ligt still has a lot of potential to become the elite defender that his Golden Boy award promised he would be. The purchase will likely be delayed by six months due to Manchester United’s financial concerns, so any action is probably going to happen in the summer.
De Ligt will likely get more chances to play for the Bayern first team during the next month or two because Kim Min-jae is also representing South Korea in the Asian Cup.
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