Matthijs de Ligt has reportedly agreed to join Manchester United as the Red Devils eye a big-money summer move.
The deal is far from confirmed, however, as Erik ten Hag’s side are yet to finalise a deal with Bayern Munich.
De Ligt will extend his own record as the defender with the highest combined transfer fees in history if he does join Man Utd this summer, with the Dutchman joining Juventus and Bayern Munich for €85.5 million and €67m respectively.
READ MORE: Premier League summer transfers 2024 – All the Done Deals
With Everton setting a huge asking price for Jarrad Branthwaite, Man Utd have seemingly turned their full attention to De Ligt and a move appears a relatively likely possibility.
Below, FootballTransfers runs through the winners and losers of De Ligt’s potential move to Old Trafford.
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Winner – Matthijs de Ligt
De Ligt himself could be considered the biggest winner of this potential transfer. It hasn’t quite worked out at Bayern and a move to Man Utd will see him reunited with Ten Hag.
The pair enjoyed a fantastic relationship at Ajax and the best ever spell of De Ligt’s career came under the management of Ten Hag.
As a result, the Netherlands international will be buoyed by the possibility of linking back up with the Man Utd boss and it could help him rediscover his best form.
Loser – Harry Maguire
Raphael Varane’s departure provided the chance for Harry Maguire to take centre stage next to Lisandro Martinez at the heart of Man Utd’s backline.
However, that now looks incredibly unlikely, with De Ligt set to become Martinez’s partner instead.
Maguire’s career at Man Utd is likely to continue, after his impressive end to 2023-24, but De Ligt is arriving to play a key role and Maguire will be the player who loses out as a result.
Winner – Bayern Munich
Bayern have already signed Hiroki Ito for just €23.5m and considering De Ligt could be sold for double that amount, the Bavarians will be very happy with their transfer business.
The Dutchman is, of course, extremely talented, but he has been unable to rediscover his very best form and they will earn a nice sum of cash by selling De Ligt and replacing him with Ito.
Furthermore, De Ligt only started 16 Bundesliga games last season, so he wasn’t a guaranteed starter and Eric Dier’s arrival on a free transfer will also ease the blow of losing the ex-Ajax captain.
Loser – Willy Kambwala
Willy Kambwala broke into the Man Utd first-team towards the end of the season, but his chances of playing a key role next year will diminish if De Ligt joins.
The teenager may have to leave the club on loan in order to ensure his development is prioritised.
Winner – Everton
Everton will be extremely thankful for De Ligt’s proposed switch to Man Utd.
The Toffees have set an enormous asking price for Jarrad Branthwaite in a bid to ward off interest from the Red Devils and that approach appears to have worked perfectly.
Man Utd have seemingly moved on and Branthwaite is therefore likely to remain at Goodison Park. As a result, their hopes of a successful 2024-24 Premier League season have been massively boosted.
Loser – Jarrad Branthwaite
As mentioned, Branthwaite’s chances of joining Man Utd have been hugely impacted by De Ligt’s potential move.
The Englishman was keen to sign for the Red Devils, but given Ten Hag’s transfer budget, Man Utd are unlikely to sign Branthwaite in addition to De Ligt.
While Everton will be happy with this news, Branthwaite may not be.