Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeness has suggested that Matthijs de Ligt could leave the club this summer, hinting particularly at a possible transfer to link up with his fellow Dutchman Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
As quoted, Hoeness also seemed to suggest that it could be better to offload De Ligt than to allow Dayot Upamecano to be the defender to leave the Allianz Arena…
??? Bayern’s Uli Hoeneß on Matthijs de Ligt: “It’s possible that a defender will leave. De Ligt is Dutch, the coach at Manchester United is Dutch…”.
“I would have no problem if he stays. Personally, I would not sell Upamecano”, said via @_kochmaximilian. pic.twitter.com/Q3WSucdekX
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 21, 2024
De Ligt remains an option for Man Utd this summer, as Romano previously told us, but after completing a deal to sign Leny Yoro from Lille, it means they now need to focus on sales before making another purchase as they’ll want to make sure they’re balancing the books and not risking being penalised over Financial Fair Play breaches.
Bayern themselves may be keen to cash in on one or two players this summer after bringing in big-name signings like Joao Palhinha and Michael Olise, but it remains to be seen if they’ll definitely be getting rid of De Ligt.
The Netherlands international could still be a useful player for the Bavarian giants, even if he’s been a little slow to get going since joining the club from what also proved to be a slightly underwhelming spell at Juventus.
De Ligt notably played under United manager Ten Hag when they were together at Ajax, and it was there that De Ligt was regarded as one of the finest young players in world football.
The 24-year-old is now at a point in his career where he needs to think really carefully about what the best move for him would be, as he could perhaps do without more chopping and changing in his life.
However, it might also be worth it if it means he can get more guaranteed playing time than he’s likely to have at Bayern.
