Manchester United made reorganization of its defense team a top priority in the summer transfer market. The player that Manchester United initially wanted was Jarrod Branswaite (Everton). However, as Everton stuck to its high price tag, they turned to De Ligt.
De Ligt joined Munich in the 2022-23 season. De Ligt played in 31 Bundesliga matches in his first season and took the starting position. This season, he lost the starting position to Kim Min-jae and Dayo Upamecano in the first half of the season, but he played as a starting resource again in the second half. However, after Ben-Ssang Kompany took the helm of Munich, he became close to Manchester United as he put his name on the sale list.
There was also a risk that the trend would fall apart. It has been said that Manchester United will give up De Ligt after signing Lenny Yoro, a huge prospect for central defender, for 70 million euros (about 105 billion won). Nevertheless, Manchester United decided that De Ligt needs to be recruited along with Yoro and negotiated with Munich.
Manchester United also sought to recruit Mazraoui at the same time as De Ligt. Mazraoui, a multi-player who can play both left and right side backs, also lost ground after Kompany’s inauguration. Manchester United picked Mazraoui as a substitute in preparation for Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s transfer.
Manchester United eventually succeeded in simultaneously recruiting the Munich duo. European football transfer market expert Fabrissiro Romano reported on the 11th (Korea time) that “Manchester United succeeded in recruiting De Ligt and Mazrau. Both players have a one-year extension option on their five-year contracts and medical tests will be conducted soon.”안전놀이터
De Ligt and Mazraoui are students of Erik ten Hag, who played for Ajax. Ten Hag has been steadily recruiting Ajax or Dutch players since his inauguration. Key players include Antony, Andre Onana, and Tyrrell Malacia. However, De Ligt and Mazraoui have joined the team, with no success story expected.
De Ligt and Mazraoui’s transfer fees were reported to be 50 million euros (about 74.5 billion won) and 20 million euros (about 30.5 billion won), including options, respectively.