Man United careful buying from Bayern Munich after what happened in two transfer windows

The blond-haired Bayern Munich defender Manchester United should be making a beeline for is Joshua Kimmich, not Matthijs de Ligt.

United will have glanced at Kimmich. He is out of contract at Bayern next year and the noise coming out of Bavaria suggests he is available. Perhaps Kimmich is bound for Barcelona, where his former coach Hansi Flick has replaced Xavi.

Before Sir Jim Ratcliffe surfaced in the Old Trafford directors' box, United were tracking prospective targets due to have a year left on their contract this summer. Ratcliffe has namechecked the Transfermarkt website and Kimmich is listed as the 11th most-expensive player out of contract next year.

Transfermarkt's numbers are as infamous as they are inexplicable. Scott McTominay, the subject of a rejected £30m offer by West Ham last year before he had a career-best season, is listed at £27m. De Ligt, a substitute for club and country, is valued at €65m when United have been quoted €15m less. Kimmich is rated at €50m.

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As a final fee, that would be reasonable for a 29-year-old with plenty of mileage left. Kimmich is a better right back than the two at United and an upgrade on their senior midfielders.

He is nine years Kobbie Mainoo's senior and would be a worthy partner. Stolen from RB Leipzig for €7m when he was only 20 in 2015, Kimmich has a pedigree befitting a Bayern and Germany stalwart: enough medals to warrant an extension for a trophy room and ten appearances short of becoming a centurion for Die Mannschaft.

United and Bayern share a close bond through the Munich air disaster and Bayern delegates continue to visit the Manchesterplatz site on February 6. The