Red Devils to go up against Chelsea, Bayern and Barcelona in bonkers race for Juventus star

The race for Matthijs De Ligt's signature this summer is attracting Europe's biggest clubs – with Man United now reportedly joining in

Posted Sunday, February 06, 2022 by fourfourtwo.com

Matthijs De Ligt is set to kickstart an incredible transfer battle this summer, with no fewer than four of Europe's biggest clubs now linked with a move for the Dutch defender.

According to the Italian football press, Manchester United are the latest team to join the hunt for De Ligt, with Bayern Munich and Barcelona already interested. This follows recent reports that Chelsea are also keen on bringing in the stopper.

Bringing in De Ligt would be a major boost to Man United's latest rebuild project, and mean that they had three world-class center-backs to depend on, along with Raphael Varane and Harry Maguire.

While De Ligt has two more years left on his contract in Turin, the Old Lady failed to win the title last year and have fallen off the pace this season, sitting 11 points behind leaders Inter.

Bayern remain as dominant as ever in the Bundesliga, and the 2020 Champions League winners are a constant threat in Europe.

Barcelona are a more unknown quantity. The club is struggling with financial problems – but that hasn't stopped them splashing out £46.7m on Ferran Torres, and being linked with pretty much every major name across the continent.

Chelsea's link makes sense in a more straightforward sense. Back in January, this is what we said about that potential move:

"Chelsea meanwhile are in a state of flux defensively and are set to lose both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen at the end of the season, as things stand. The European champions have been heavily linked with a move for Jules Kounde and adding De Ligt would enable Tuchel to move to a back four."