Man Utd act on transfer stagnation to make approach for De Ligt alternative with agreement ‘still missing’

Man Utd have acted on a lack of agreement between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen over a deal for Jonathan Tah, according to Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg.

The Red Devils are looking to sign at least two new centre-backs in the summer transfer window as they look to improve their defensive record under Erik ten Hag.

After making two bids for Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, it now looks like Aston Villa’s imminent deal to sign Amadou Onana from the Toffees will end Man Utd’s pursuit of the England international as the Merseysiders will now demand their full £70m-plus asking price.

Lille have accepted an offer from the Red Devils for Real Madrid target Leny Yoro, while there has been serious interest in Bayern Munich centre-back Matthijs de Ligt .

But Sky Germany reporter Plettenberg has now claimed that the “final offer” for De Ligt from Man Utd is still missing and they have now made an enquiry for Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Tah.

Plettenberg wrote on X : “Been told that Manchester United have inquired about Jonathan #Tah in the last few days! ManUtd aware of the fact, that there’s no agreement between Bayern and Leverkusen.

“And: There’s still no final agreement between ManUtd & Bayern about a transfer of Matthijs de Ligt yet. As the final offer from #MUFC is still missing.”

While transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has given a big update on the latest out of Old Trafford with a number of players set to come and go this summer.

Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column : ‘Willy Kambwala is leaving Manchester United on a permanent transfer to Villarreal. The young defender had one year left on his contract and wasn’t negotiating a new deal, he wanted to play and now he’s going to play in Spain. Villarreal are set to pay €10m to Manchester United, and then give a five-year contract to the player, with a sell-on clause and also a buy-back clause for Man United.

‘The medical is expected to take place in the next 24-48 hours, with Man United keeping control of the player for the future, and this happens as they continue to make progress on the Matthijs de Ligt deal. Meanwhile, another departure from United we already know about is Raphael Varane, and he has now said yes to a move to Como, subject to a medical.

‘There will also be a decision next week on Sofyan Amrabat, so it depends on United, they will decide next week. This is what all sources say, it’s not clear yet because it only depends on United decision. The player has already given his green light to the move. In any case, he could leave Fiorentina because he wants to try a different project.

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‘There have also been transfer rumours about Man United and Xavi Simons. My understanding remains that two clubs are still leading the race – Bayern and RB Leipzig. These two clubs are pushing, and their advantage is that they have been pushing for a long time, for the last few months.

‘Xavi Simons has already decided to leave Paris Saint-Germain on loan, and he will probably leave on a permanent transfer next summer. It’s 99% over between PSG and Simons, and as I’ve said before, one key figure to watch is Max Eberl, the former Leipzig director who’s now at Bayern, as he’s pushing to sign Simons again after bringing him on loan to Leipzig last year.

‘Leipzig, however, are also in the race and can offer Simons a role as an important part of their squad. The Dutch midfielder had a very good loan there last season, they are an ambitious club, as they’ve shown by keeping Benjamin Sesko, and so they want to try to keep Simons as well.

‘So what about United? It’s true that they have an interest in Simons, and they asked for information on his situation after confirming that Erik ten Hag is staying as manager. They are not leading the race because they joined quite late, as both Bayern and Leipzig have been there since April. Another club to ask about Simons was Newcastle, but again this was late, just a few days ago, so this is why Bayern and Leipzig remain the two favourites.’