Bayern Munich chiefs will be keeping close tabs on how Manchester United’s transfer proceedings fare in the coming days as the Reds are given the green light to speed up their pursuit of two players.
After weeks of speculation and talks with both targets’ respective clubs, United can now look to step up their efforts in signing Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee.
This is because the two Dutch internationals were sent home from Euro 2024 last night following the Netherlands’ 2-1 defeat to England. De Ligt wasn’t granted a single appearance at the tournament by Ronald Koeman, while compatriot Zirkzee made just two outings off the bench, which totalled only four minutes worth of action.
Still, United are actively doing their utmost to get deals over the line as swiftly as possible. Pre-season begins on Monday, July 15 with a trip to face Rosenborg in Norway before the Reds return to the United Kingdom to lock horns with Rangers in Edinburgh.
On July 28, Erik ten Hag and his men kick off their tour of the United States by going head-to-head with fierce rivals Arsenal in California, so the manager will be hoping to have as many new recruits in his squad as possible to see how they fare across the warm-up fixtures.
Euro giants will achieve from United transfers
As for Bayern Munich, they’ll also be wanting United to be efficient in their transfer business. Not only would their sale of De Ligt all but cover the cost of the impending arrival of Jonathan Tah from Bayer Leverkusen, but the German giants also stand to make a £17 million profit if the Reds activate Zirkzee’s £34m release clause.
He is a product of Bayern’s academy and even won a treble with the side in 2020. When the 23-year-old left for Bologna in 2022, a 50 per cent resale term was embedded into his contract.
Kicker reports that the sales of both players would provide the Bundesliga outfit a much-needed injection of funds after acquiring both Hiroki Ito (£19m) and Michael Olise (£60m). They’re expected to demand around £42.5m to sanction De Ligt’s exit this summer.
