Erik ten Hag eyes Manchester United reunion with Bayern Munich star Matthijs de Ligt as alternative to Jarrad Branthwaite

Manchester United are exploring the possibility of signing Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt, talkSPORT understands.

De Ligt really wants to leave Bayern this summer and sees it United as a possible alternative to Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite.

Dutch international De Ligt He stood out playing under United manager Erik ten Hag at Ajax between 2017 and 2019.

He united chief He even named the centre-back as his captain, making him the youngest captain in Ajax history at 19 years and 186 days.

De Ligt joined Juventus in the summer of 2019 and spent three years in Turin before heading to Germany with Bayern Munich.

Throughout his career, De Ligt has won league titles with Ajax, Juventus and Bayern, as well as the Dutch KNVB Cup and the Coppa Italia.

It is understood that a deal with Bayern could be realistic, although the 24-year-old still has three years left on his contract.

This is after he was limited to just 30 appearances last season due to a knee injury.

De Ligt is currently in Germany for Euro 2024 after being called up to Ronald Koeman's Netherlands team.

But he has yet to feature in the tournament, having been a substitute and not playing in Holland's three Group D matches.

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Speaking ahead of the Euros, De Ligt was silent on whether he could leave the Allianz Arena this summer.

He said: “I have already said that it is not the time to think about it.

“Now we are playing in the European Championship and that is very important for me and for the national team.

“But what I can say is that I've already played my second season at Bayern and I'm very happy.

“For now I'm focused on the Eurocup and then we'll see what happens.”

United have also been considering signing Branthwaite from Everton.

the candies Branthwaite valued at £70mand it is understood that an agreement for De Ligt would be much more affordable.