For far too long, Manchester United were seen as the prime example of how not to run a club in the transfer market.
A squad full of over-paid, over-rated players who, if they had joined other clubs, surely would not have cost anywhere near as much. That’s the so-called ‘Manchester United tax’ for you.
This rather unhelpful trend rapidly developed once United’s rivals realised that they would simply throw money at a problem – and many a player – regardless of how much they had inflated their target’s true market value.
See Harry Maguire at £80 million. Antony for £82 million.
Even Rasmus Hojlund at £64 million. Hugely talented and brimming with potential, yes, but who arrived at Old Trafford after one season of Serie A football. Only 20 league starts for Atalanta starts and nine goals.
It would be fitting then, if the first signing of the Ineos era was a genuine, bonafide bargain buy. The type of which United fans dreamed off during the sorry reigns of Ed Woodward and John Murtough.
Matthijs de Ligt could be bargain buy
There may be some who fear that Matthijs de Ligt is another big-name United signing destined to fall short of expectations. Such trauma takes time to get over, after all, and the memories of Angel di Maria, Alexis Sanchez and co live long in the memories.
Amid reports that Bayern Munich are willing to sell Erik ten Hag’s former Ajax skipper for just £34 million, per iNews, there is a tendency to ask ‘what’s the catch’.
And, OK, there are a few concerns. De Ligt missed 18 games for Bayern last season through injury, though it would be a stretch to call him ‘injury prone’. He is yet to live up to Ten Hag’s prediction that he would become the finest centre-half on the planet either.
Then again, at just 24, he has plenty of time on his side to prove his old – and potentially new – boss right. What’s more, the argument that De Ligt flopped after big-money moves to Juventus and Bayern Munich is simply false.
Dutch reporter Valentijn Drissen can’t believe Bayern are willing to sell after a ‘fantastic few months’ at the back end of 2023/24. Constantin Eckner, speaking to talkSPORT, says De Ligt was the best player in the Bundesliga just over 12 months ago.
“In the 2022/23 season, the second half of the season he was the best player in the Bundesliga!” Eckner argues. “He can still be a great centre-half.
“He’s played pretty well for Bayern, but Bayern want to overhaul their squad. They are closing in on the signing of Jonathan Tah from Bayer Leverkusen and he would be the one who replaces Matthijs de Ligt.”
Some Bayern fans have also drawn up a petition demanding De Ligt stay at the Allianz Arena.
West Ham deal shows De Ligt value
With all this in mind, £34 million for a potentially world-class central defender with a decade or more left at the top level feels like truly remarkable business should De Ligt find consistent fitness and form.
You only have to compare his fee to the one West Ham United are paying Wolves for Max Kilman, per Fabrizio Romano.
Kilman is £6 million more expensive at £40 million. He is three years older. He has no international or Champions League experience unlike De Ligt, who has played in two European finals, one final, and won a league title in three different countries.
Interestingly, The Times report that Kilman was also on United’s radar.
The Woodward and Murtough era came to epitomise a Manchester United side who would frequently spend obscene sums on players worth a fraction of their transfer sums.
If De Ligt is a sign of things to come under Ineos, that dreaded ‘Manchester United tax’ may finally be a thing of the past at last.
