Man Utd tipped to move for Juventus star; Pogba swap deal could be on the cards

Manchester United are apparently ready to move again for Matthijs de Ligt after a difficult first year at Juventus.

Attempts were made to bring the Holland centre-back to Old Trafford last year when he was one of the most in-demand stars of the summer window. While a number of top European clubs made it clear they wanted to sign De Ligt — including La Liga champions Barcelona — he opted to join Juventus from Ajax for £67.5m (via The Guardian).

However, the 20-year-old is taking his time adapting to life in Serie A, has struggled to hold down a place in Maurizio Sarri’s starting line-up (making just 15 league starts this season).

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The Daily Star claims United are considering a move for De Ligt and could use Paul Pogba as bait in a bid to lure the defender to the Premier League.

De Ligt, brought in to replace Juve legend Giorgio Chiellini, also suffered knee and shoulder issues to add to his problems.

He shares the same agent as Pogba — Mino Raiola — and United should probably stay as far away from him as possible. Not De Ligt, but I’d be surprised if Ed Woodward was open to working with the Italian agent again. Or he should at least be advised by Solskjaer not to.

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United will want to recoup all of the money they spent on re-signing Pogba in 2016, but getting a player like De Ligt in return could soften the financial blow.

He’d cost around that this summer anyway because Juve aren’t going to accept a loss after one year.

Moreover, it remains to be seen what will happen with the proposed summer transfer window, due to the coronavirus pandemic forcing professional football to be suspended.

The season’s plans are in turmoil so it feels weird to be discussing transfers right now.

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