De Ligt | €45+5m agreement reached pending medical | Signed!

[El-Manos]

I seriously think that if we get this guy and can keep Licha fit then we will see a totally different Manchester United this season. Get this one over the line and I will be quietly optimistic about our chances of competing with the other teams at the top.

We need alt least another striker and defensive midfielder to even consider your statement.

 

[Tiber]

~£38 Million would be a great price.

Less than half the price than Braithwaite feels oddly cheap if there is no red flag.

Maybe I'm just too cynical

 

[Berbaclass]

Less than half the price than Braithwaite feels oddly cheap

Dan Ashworth coming in clutch. Yes I know it's got nothing to do with him

 

[hellhunter]

Less than half the price than Braithwaite feels oddly cheap if there is no red flag.

Maybe I'm just too cynical

Bayern willingly selling a player is always a red flag

 

[Ali Dia]

Dan Ashworth coming in clutch. Yes I know it's got nothing to do with him

Big Dan energy!

 

[Skills]

Would be a coup, he's class

 

[aeh1991]

Though I am slightly against this move, to see that our stance is to get him for 30-40m euros is great. Even if we go into a compromised fee, it won't be that high for a player of his calibre. I like the INEOS transfer ideology.

 

[Cassidy]

Less than half the price than Braithwaite feels oddly cheap if there is no red flag.

Maybe I'm just too cynical

Or Braithwaite is widely overpriced...

 

[roonster09]

Signing we all wanted when he was leaving Ajax.

Transfer fee looks good enough for us, player of his quality and experience (and just 24) available for 40 million is a good business, wages might be on higher side.

Him and Licha should help us to play from the back, along with Shaw we will have 3 players who are good on the ball.

 

[Rojofiam]

Fee is just one part. You have to look at the overall package when you are signing a player to get the actual cost.

A 42m few + 250/wk (assuming) for 5 years makes it a pretty steep deal. That's 13m/annum in wages. 65m over a 5 year contract. That's over a 100m in costs for a player with plenty of red flags.

I agree, however:

Who are the alternatives that are as good or on a similar level as de Ligt, would cost below £50m, are the optimal age, and would also accept around £100-120k per week in wages? We aren't saving that much money if we pay more in transfer fees, but lower wages.

Lowballing every club for their players and not willing to match even their fair value, be that the transfer fee or wages, will just have us end up signing 10th choice players in every position. Not overpaying isn't equal to not even paying fair value. That would be going from one extreme to another. Whenever there's a good opportunity, sure, take it, but we're Manchester United, one of the biggest and richest clubs in the world. Our wage bill should be among the highest ones in world football, and we can't solely rely on just finding bargains all the time. Elite talent costs a premium, and avoiding them makes it impossible to reach City's or Arsenal's level. I don't want us to be like Liverpool and miss out on the best players, because "value in the market" and Klopp was enough to usually stay in the top 4, with the occasional title challenge. If we want to get back to the top, our recruitment policy has to be an optimal mixture of different types of deals. Finding bargains is always great, but you do have to occasionally, I'd even say regularly, pay big money for the best talents out there. Why do you think City wanted both Rice and Bellingham in 2023, when they were coming off of a treble winning season, and also already had Rodri? Because 1. they lost Gündogan 2. they wanted to stay on top...but this isn't even that relevant in regards to de Ligt's situation, as 42m isn't a premium fee for him, it's rather probably significantly below his real market value.

Regarding the wages, if Casemiro leaves, we'll only have 6 players on more than 150k/week: Rashford at 300k, Mount at 250k, Fernandes at 240k, Antony at 200k, Sancho at 195k, and Maguire at 190k. The future of some of these players is also uncertain. Varane (340k), Martial (250k), Ronaldo (515k), De Gea (375k), Pogba (290k), Cavani (250k), and Mata (160k) have all left the club in the last 24 months. Casemiro (350k), Antony (200k), Sancho (195k), Maguire (190k), Eriksen (150k), van de Beek (90k), and a few others on similar wages as the latter two might also leave. There's a lot of space on our wage bill right now for a player of de Ligt's quality, even if he's going to be on 200k/week or more.

 

[midou]

Onana
Dalot - De Ligt - Martinez - Shaw

Not bad if we want to build from the back, all 5 are good to play it out... With the injury records their backups become of high importance though

This is the dream, how many games a season can we field this back 4 though...

 

[OsloRed]

Him and Licha should help us to play from the back, along with Shaw we will have 3 players who are good on the ball.

Along with Dalot, we have four. Add Onana and our backline would look pretty comfortable in possession.

 

[Betson]

Though I am slightly against this move, to see that our stance is to get him for 30-40m euros is great. Even if we go into a compromised fee, it won't be that high for a player of his calibre. I like the INEOS transfer ideology.

Lets see how it works out ,and if it comes towards the end of the transfer window and no one is doing any business with us.

 

[moses]

Lets see how it works out ,and if it comes towards the end of the transfer window and no one is doing any business with us.

There seems to be nothing the club can do that posters won't whine about.

This is very early, surely nobody will argue for offering high early in a negotiation?

 

[aeh1991]

Lets see how it works out ,and if it comes towards the end of the transfer window and no one is doing any business with us.

Why so pessimistic. It had always been the other way around: we overpaid every time, while other top clubs made these kind of deals. Instead of pushing through transfers of main targets, we start to have a 'take it or leave it' position and move to alternatives if the opponent club doesn't agree with us. I hope De Ligt is seen as an alternative to Branthwaite and we go for a cheaper second CB instead.

 

[The Boy]

He wasn't in the team of the year.

He was for his first season in Germany 22/23

 

[quadrant]

Age, experience, footballing style and transfer fee are all good. Wages look to be a little higher than preferable, but we're not talking about insane amounts more than you'd expect. Injury record is mostly good. It'll keep the manager happy. Seems like a good deal to me.

 

[Cassidy]

Age, experience, footballing style and transfer fee are all good. Wages look to be a little higher than preferable, but we're not talking about insane amounts more than you'd expect. Injury record is mostly good. It'll keep the manager happy. Seems like a good deal to me.

Add to that that he is actually a leader and has a strong mentality too

 

[jeepers]

Concerned about his high wages and that ligament injury. He’s top quality and would be great beside Martinez. However, there are also quite a few good CBs out there, so is he the best available choice?

 

[Murder on Zidanes Floor]

He isn't slow, he looked an absolute beast for Ajax at 18 years old, he was very very good at Juventus and also very good at Bayern whenever I've seen him. Only concerned about his injury record to be fair.

Issue is, he's clearly not fancied by two top clubs. Likely he is too expensive pw for what he contributes and the resources could be spent better elsewhere, hence why they're happy to let him go.

 

[demetre]

With his speed and injury record he seems to be a perfect replacement for both Maguire and Varane. I do like him a lot though, he was phenomenal at Ajax.

 

[Cassidy]

Issue is, he's clearly not fancied by two top clubs. Likely he is too expensive pw for what he contributes and the resources could be spent better elsewhere, hence why they're happy to let him go.

Juve wanted to keep him, and he refused to sign a new deal; He left when they started to decline, I mean, it's better to stop making such assertions when they are not true.

 

[Macern]

He’s a great defender, not the flashy kind that highlight watching people appreciate, but his positioning and anticipation is very good. Has a lot of routine for his age and would be a perfect fit next to Licha. He has enough pace for them to work out as a pairing.

Only worry is injuries, but don’t think there have been reoccuring ones. I’m so hyped for this!

 

[JB08]

How many have they both missed over the past 3 years?

Varane 48, De Ligt 27. If you extend to 4 years, for example, Varane 56 and De Ligt 55.

Not a good sign, especially given De Ligt's age.

 

[moses]

Issue is, he's clearly not fancied by two top clubs. Likely he is too expensive pw for what he contributes and the resources could be spent better elsewhere, hence why they're happy to let him go.

De Light pulled out of contract negotiations with Juve.

 

[Posh Red]

If he has good leadership quality, as some seem to believe, this could be a really helpful signing. He could help to instil some belief in the managers methods with the rest of the squad, which can’t be a bad thing.

 

[Murder on Zidanes Floor]

Juve wanted to keep him, and he refused to sign a new deal; He left when they started to decline, I mean, it's better to stop making such assertions when they are not true.

He spent three seasons there, he was part of the decline no?

 

[TwoSheds]

Well he probably won't be injured any more than Varane I suppose. Could be a good signing if we've got £40m burning a hole in our pocket.

 

[Murder on Zidanes Floor]

De Light pulled out of contract negotiations with Juve.

Because his agent offered him to Bayern?

Fair enough on Juve, I just don't see it with him.

 

[Cassidy]

He spent three seasons there, he was part of the decline no?

No

 

[Cassidy]

Varane 48, De Ligt 27. If you extend to 4 years, for example, Varane 56 and De Ligt 55.

Not a good sign, especially given De Ligt's age.

last season was knee ligament issues

But before that, two season with limited issues.


De Ligt

Season	Days	Injuries	Games missed
23/24	80 days	4	20
22/23	15 days	3	5
21/22	7 days	1	2
20/21	143 days	4	28
19/20	25 days	3	7
18/19	10 days	1	3
16/17	11 days	1	2

Varane

Season	Days	Injuries	Games missed
23/24	72 days	3	14
22/23	52 days	3	15
21/22	95 days	5	19
20/21	31 days	2	8
18/19	20 days	2	5
17/18	33 days	2	7
16/17	67 days	4	17
15/16	92 days	3	19
13/14	52 days	1	11
12/13	143 days	1	32

 

[The holy trinity 68]

Signing we all wanted when he was leaving Ajax.

Transfer fee looks good enough for us, player of his quality and experience (and just 24) available for 40 million is a good business, wages might be on higher side.

Him and Licha should help us to play from the back, along with Shaw we will have 3 players who are good on the ball.

Along with Dalot, we have four. Add Onana and our backline would look pretty comfortable in possession.

Add Mainoo as one of the two centre midfielders just in front of him as well.

 

[MadDogg]

Issue is, he's clearly not fancied by two top clubs. Likely he is too expensive pw for what he contributes and the resources could be spent better elsewhere, hence why they're happy to let him go.

I'm not sure why Juve selling him keeps being bought up. They weren't in a good position financially, he had high wages, he wanted to leave, only had two years left on his contract and wasn't going to sign a new one, and a better team were trying to sign him. As long as Bayern offered a decent amount, they were always going to sell him otherwise they would have had to balance the books in other ways and then lose him in a year or two anyway (for much less or even for free).

Bayern selling him is relevant to the point that people are trying to make, but Juventus aren't.

 

[Acrobat7]

Varane 48, De Ligt 27. If you extend to 4 years, for example, Varane 56 and De Ligt 55.

Not a good sign, especially given De Ligt's age.

The long injury at Juve was him dislocating his shoulder. Not a soft tissue injury or a torn ligament.

 

[duffer]

Less than half the price than Braithwaite feels oddly cheap if there is no red flag.

Maybe I'm just too cynical

It'll be double the salary so the eventual cost won't be that different.

 

[Cassidy]

It'll be double the salary so the eventual cost won't be that different.

No it won't

 

[moses]

Because his agent offered him to Bayern?

Fair enough on Juve, I just don't see it with him.

I think there were a few clubs involved, Barca defo.

Bayern fans love him, I haven't seen him play enough.

 

[duffer]

No it won't

Yes it will.

Fantastic contributions from us both here.

 

[Adisa]

Like that people are blasting the fee and wages even before we know what they are.

 

[Doracle]

No it won't

It will be double the salary surely? De Ligt will probably be about £275k and even we aren’t putting Branthwaite on more than £130k (which would still be too high).