• Matthijs de Ligt is the most sought-after defender in Europe this summer window
• The decision comes as a blow to Manchester United’s plans this summer
Image: REUTERS
Europe’s most sought-after defender Matthijs de Ligt is poised to join Paris Saint-Germain with rivals Manchester United and Barcelona failing to come close to matching the French club’s offer of £17million-a-year.
De Ligt, 19, has been chased by all of Europe’s leading clubs after earning rave reviews in Ajax’s run to the Champions League semi-finals but PSG have blown everyone out the water with their mouth-watering salary.
The teenager also sees the French league as a logical next step up after playing in Holland with time on his side before he plays in the Premier League or La Liga. Though expected, de Ligt’s decision is a blow to United who will have to work hard to make sure they don’t suffer another summer transfer window of discontent following complaints last year from Jose Mourinho.
Crystal Palace’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka is top of their shopping list for a right-back but with Palace wanting a ‘premium’ fee of £60million because the player is classified as a homegrown player, United are also lining up other options with PSG’s Belgian international Thomas Meunier their next-best choice and Tottenham’s Kieran Trippier also on a shortlist.
Tottenham will consider offers for 28-year-old Trippier before his resale value falls with the money needed for other areas of the team and hiking up contracts for star players like Harry Kane and Dele Alli. There is likely to be a high churn of right-backs across Europe this window.
Manchester City have made an offer of £40million for Joao Cancelo of Juventus to provide competition for Kyle Walker and Barcelona’s Nelson Semedo is likely to join Atletico Madrid. Palace are looking at Atalanta’s Timothy Castagne if Wan-Bissaka ends up at Old Trafford.
The two Manchester clubs have regularly gone head-to-head for transfer targets in a battle for power. City won the race for Samir Nasri but more recently United gazzumped their rivals to sign Alexis Sanchez at the beginning of last year - a financial outlay that Ed Woodward has vowed not to repeat, hence the decision not to match PSG’s offer to de Ligt.