De Ligt plays down Manchester United speculation

Manchester United could still be in with a chance of signing Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt

The 19-year-old Dutch international is away on duty with the Netherlands ahead of the Nations League ties this summer.

He commented to Fox Sports when asked about a potential move to Manchester United, he was non-committal, saying:

“I have read the reports about Manchester United/

“I have seen the salary I would get, too. Would you take it?

“People should take these reports with a grain of salt. The stories are funny though.

“Everyone has been talking about my future for a year now. One day I will go there, and the next day I will go somewhere else.

“I have made quite a tour through Europe haven’t I?

“My focus is on the Nations League and after that I will see what will happen.”

The Mirror reports that United have an edge ahead of Barcelona, because their finances mean that they are unable to match United’s offer of £350,000 a week, though their president is said to be personally stepping in so that they can seal the deal.

Another problem is that Barcelona do not want to deal with Mino Raiola, the player’s effervescently awkward agent. He is said to want a fee of £12 million for negotiating any deal. United are apparently willing to indulge Raiola despite only having success with one of his players - Zlatan Ibrahimovic - who quickly did one after recovering from a serious knee injury anyway.

United are yet to make a summer signing after a catastrophically terrible season in which they one again showed that they cannot plan for the long term and prefer to back underwhelming managers instead of giving their manager the chance to properly shape their squad and assert their authority, which makes any future signing pretty redundant too.