Vincent Kompany has only been Bayern Munich’s manager for a matter of weeks, but the wheels are already moving fast with the transfer rumors heading into the summer window. Even before Kompany was announced as new manager, it was said by sporting director Christoph Freund that it could be a busy window for Bayern, and there could yet be a lot of business done after the club secured the signing of Hikori Ito from VfB Stuttgart, having activated a €30 million release clause in his contract.
Bayern is still actively working on signing Xavi Simons, João Palhinha, Michael Olise, and Jonathan Tah, as the club is also coming to realize they are facing the prospect of letting Alphonso Davies enter the last year of his contract without having signed an extension. His agent and representatives are still demanding a higher salary than Bayern is set to offer, causing the road blocks at this juncture. Matthijs de Ligt is also another defender who could be leaving the Rekordmeister this summer.
Having said goodbye to veteran center-back Raphaël Varane after the conclusion of this past season, Erik Ten Hag and Manchester United are in the market for a center-back and the club is heavily interested in De Ligt. He is a player that Bayern would consider selling due to his high wages. Offloading him could free up funds to reinvest elsewhere in the squad for Kompany and his staff.
Per information from Sky Sport journalist Florian Plettenberg (via @iMiaSanMia), Ten Hag and United are closely monitoring De Ligt’s situation at Bayern this summer. There is reportedly a mutual respect between the player and United’s interest in him, especially considering the Dutch international worked alongside Ten Hag when he was still Ajax manager. United expect he could cost them around €50 million but are aware of the fact that the player will wait to hold talks with Bayern until after the Euros with the Netherlands.
For what it’s worth, De Ligt is currently valuated at €65 million per Transfermarkt, and Bayern paid roughly €70 million when they signed him from Juventus two summers ago, so if they let him go for €50 million, they would be taking a bit of a cut for a player whose contract runs through June 2027.
Looking for thoughts and analysis on Germany’s outlook for the EURO 2024 competition and an in-depth breakdown on the multitude of Bayern Munich transfer rumors — including the arrival of Hiroki Ito and the possible departures of Matthijs de Ligt, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, and Alphonso Davies, plus a whole lot more? Then check out our Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up on Spotify or below: