Manchester United have one target who has just been shown up by amateurs, a £60m move must be avoided by Ineos.
This summer a central defender is of top priority for Manchester United and it seems like it’ll come in the form of one of three names currently linked.
First of all, is Jarrad Branthwaite, with Everton’s most valuable asset arguably the top option this summer in defence, although the high price tag isn’t making a deal easy to do.
Jean-Clair Todibo also remains on the list for Erik ten Hag’s side although it’ll be a battle to sign him with Ineos hiring a lawyer to go to the court of arbitration over the UEFA rule preventing his signing.
Finally, Matthijs de Ligt now looks a serious option for United, with David Ornstein reporting that he’s being looked at.
Now one of these three targets has been completely embarrassed by amateurs.
Matthijs de Ligt outclassed by amateurs during friendly
In the hopes of getting some extra match sharpness ahead of the Euro 2024 knockout stage, the Netherlands played a friendly game against fourth-tier side TSV Havelse.
This ended in a 6-1 win for the Dutch, with Wout Weghorst scoring twice but being slammed for his aggressive play in the friendly.
But according to Dutch outlet FCUpdate, the game saw a painful outing for Bayern Munich defender De Ligt.
“It was only a painful afternoon for Matthijs de Ligt, because he was outplayed by a player from the fourth division and who scored for the amateurs. De Ligt has not yet taken action this European Championship for the Orange.”
This comes amid reports that United are seriously considering a move to sign De Ligt this summer but proves that the move would be a poor one.
Manchester United must avoid De Ligt
Despite De Ligt emerging as a target, there are multiple reasons that United should avoid signing him this summer.
First and most obviously, the financial package required to sign him would be massive, and completely ruin the wage structure which is now being put in place with a £59.3m price tag and £260k-a-week wage.
After a season for Bayern in which he wasn’t a regular feature and now not playing at the Euros, De Ligt isn’t the exciting young defender he once was but rather is a player who represents a huge risk for Ineos.
He would be another ex-Ajax player to arrive under Ten Hag, and thus far that hasn’t exactly worked out with Lisandro Martinez being the only one.
That being said, if Ineos decide to sign him, we’ll have to trust their judgement and get behind him. But it’s definitely worth noting that he’s a huge risk.