Ajax star turned down Man Utd move

Ajax and Netherlands centre-back Matthijs de Ligt has turned down a move to Manchester United, according to reports.

The 19-year-old is one of the top up-and-coming defenders in the game and has been strongly linked with a move to Barcelona and Liverpool in recent months. He played the full 90 minutes as a 17-year-old when we beat Ajax in the Europa League final two years ago.

De Ligt has been one of the stars for the Ajax team this term, who won the Dutch Cup over the weekend, lead the Eredivisie with two games to go, and are in the Champions League semi-finals against Tottenham Hotspur later this week. He is one of several talented players in Erik ten Hag’s side that are expected to be sold this summer.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United will be keen to land a new centre-back this summer having conceded more goals this season than in any previous Premier League campaign. We have looked a shambles at the back at times and most of us are amazed that the likes of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are still at the club.

According to the Daily Star, we offered the teenager a whooping £250,000-a-week contract over five years but that the 6’2″ centre-back was not interested in a move to Old Trafford. It goes without saying that the Dutch international would be a sensational signing if we were to pull it off, but our chances look slim to none.

Failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League could certainly hinder us during the summer transfer window and Matthijs de Ligt appears to be the latest target to turn us down.