Erik ten Hag and Jose Mourinho agree on Manchester United transfer gamble

It is six years since Matthijs de Ligt became a record breaker against Manchester United, starting the 2018 Europa League final for Ajax at 17 years and 285 days, becoming the youngest player to start in a major European final.

Already De Ligt seemed destined for greatness and little that happened in the next couple of years altered that narrative. He was the youngest Ajax player to reach a century of appearances and in the same year became the youngest full debutant in the Netherlands’ history.

Now, a move to Old Trafford is on the cards with De Ligt a contender to replace Raphael Varane at the heart of United’s defence. An approach to Bayern Munich for the 24-year-old could be made.

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Signing De Ligt is no longer the no-brainer it looked a few years ago, however. In July 2019 he signed for Juventus for €75m, lasting three years in Turin before heading to Bayern Munich for €67m. A further two years on, a move to United would see his value drop further. Questions have been asked since he left Amsterdam.

The history-maker for his country is now peripheral at Euro 2024. Stefan de Vrij has partnered Virgil van Dijk and Micky van de Ven has twice come off the bench in three group games. De Ligt has been an unused substitute throughout the tournament.

This is a player still playing at a good level, but one struggling to fulfil the potential that seemed so obvious five years ago, when he was a 19-year-old being hailed as the heir to Giorgio Chiellini, with a plan to partner the Italian great before inheriting his role as a leader of the defence. Back in 2019