Manchester United have £21.5m transfer green light to buy player Erik ten Hag was desperate to sign

Every summer during Erik ten Hag's two-and-a-half years in charge of Manchester United saw the club linked with a move for Inter Milan full-back Denzel Dumfries.

The Dutch international is considered one of the best right-backs in world football and has twice helped the Nerazzurri reach the Champions League final.

The former PSV defender has won six major trophies in Milan and a player of his pedigree would have been a huge asset during Ten Hag's time at the club.

In the end, United signed Noussair Mazraoui for a bargain £12.8million fee last summer to provide competition to Diogo Dalot in the right-back ranks and their interest in Dumfries cooled.

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Since Ten Hag was sacked and replaced as head coach by Ruben Amorim, United have switched to a 3-4-2-1 formation using two wing-backs.

Dumfries would be adept in a wing-back role but while United would ideally like to add more quality in that position, it is less of a priority than signing a new forward, attacking midfielder, central midfielder and a goalkeeper this summer.

That being said, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Dumfries is said to have a €25million (£21.5million) release clause written into his contract until mid-July.

For a player of his quality, that is an opportunity many clubs should be jumping on and Barcelona are said to be considering a deal. At 29, he may not have great resale value but he would bring top class quality in his peak years.

While it may not be United's number one priority, it will be interesting to see whether such a bargain price rekindles