English giants make double bid for unwanted Bayern duo

Manchester United have made a joint bid for Bayern Munich defenders Matthijs De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, David Ornstein of The Athletic has reported. Ornstein, one of the most reputable journalists in the game, did not disclose the details of the bid that United sent, but did confirm that Bayern have turned it down.

He did say that talks are ongoing, so we can assume that another bid will be made in due course. According to Ornstein, both players have agreed personal terms on 5+1 contracts. Both players are represented by the same agent - Rafaela Pimenta.

De Ligt to United had gone quiet over the last couple of weeks, after the English giants confirmed the signing of central defender Lenny Yoro. However, Yoro, similarly to Hiroko Ito of Bayern, got injured during pre-season, and will be out of action for a considerable period.

So United’s need for another central defender has suddenly increased. However, as mentioned above, Bayern have had their own injury misfortune in defense and have a greater need for De Ligt than before.

The Dutch central defender was back in Munich on Friday for medical and performance tests. Florian Plettenberg states that De Ligt is approaching the season in a professional way, despite having personal terms agreed with United.

In any case, there is high probability of De Ligt and Mazraoui joining United at some point in the window. Both players have agreed personal terms with United, and are unlikely to be starters in Bavaria next season. The duo also played under Erik Ten Hag during his time at Ajax.

Fabrizio Romano has said that a deal for Mazraoui to United will begin to accelerate once Aaron Wan-Bissaka joins West Ham United.

Ironically, Bayern agreed a fee with West Ham for Mazraoui, who turned down the move. As a result, it could end up with Wan-Bissaka at West Ham and Mazraoui at United in this saga.