Manchester United beat Rangers 2-0 in a preseason friendly yesterday. They’ll next take on Arsenal in Inglewood, California next weekend as they commence their preseason tour of the United States. In the mean time, we have transfer talk to do, and today we’ll cover Sofyan Amrabat and Matthijs de Ligt.
Let’s start with Amrabat, who remains in limbo as his loan deal from Fiorentina has reached its conclusion, but his next destination remains unclear.
?? Manchester United have informed Fiorentina that they will not trigger €20m buy option clause for Sofyan Amrabat.
Told Man United remain interested in Amrabat and willing to discuss different conditions, as Erik ten Hag likes him.
There’s interest also from other clubs. pic.twitter.com/ltwWkI2ZCh
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 21, 2024
Related: Latest on the Future of Scott McTominay
As you can see from the update above, United are still interested in keeping him around, but are looking at other ways to accomplish it. Shifting gears to De Ligt, Bayern Munich Honorary President Uli Hoeness says his club will green light the sale of De Ligt, should a proper offer come in.
He also said that he’d rather sell De Ligt than his fellow center back Dayot Upamecano.
“It’s possible that a defender will leave,” Hoeness admitted, as per Maximilian Koch.
“De Ligt is Dutch, the coach at Manchester United is Dutch…I would have no problem if he stays. Personally, I would not sell Upamecano.”
By mentioning United manager Erik ten Hag, and how the gaffer is the same nationality as De Ligt, Hoeness is directly referencing the United transfer saga with De Ligt that has been going on for over a month now.
De Ligt has agreed personal terms with United, but the two clubs have yet to reach an agreement on transfer fee price.
With Leny Yoro coming over though, perhaps De Ligt isn’t going to happen? Will United actually be buying two central defenders this summer transfer window?
Or the play for Paris Saint-Germain’s Manuel Ugarte instead?
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.