Manchester United in pole position to land Barcelona target

 

Manchester United are believed to be close to signing Barcelona and Manchester City target Matthijs de Ligt, according to RAC1 via the Metro. 

 

De Ligt has emerged as the finest young defensive talents on the continent and his stock has only increased following Ajax’s title success and progression to the Champions League semi-final. 

 

It’s seen a number of Europe’s elite sides show an interest in the 19-year-old, and it was reported that Barcelona were leading the way to secure his services, with De Ligt expected to follow Frenkie de Dong to Camp Nou. 

 

However, United are now rumoured to be in pole position to sign the teenage centre-back with a deal supposedly very close to completion. 

 

His capture would be a huge statement of intent by United, who ended the season poorly and conceded 54 league goals, marking their worst ever defensive campaign since the Premier League’s 1992 inception. 

 

De Ligt’s primary quality is his ability to play the ball out from the back having made more accurate passes (3833) than any other player since the start of the 2017/18 Eredivisie season. 

 

 

His WhoScored rating of 7.32, meanwhile, was enough to make WhoScored’s Eredivisie team of the season.