Manchester United 'seriously considering move for Matthijs de Ligt'... with Erik ten Hag earmarking the Bayern Munich star as a potential addition for his new-look defence

Manchester United are reportedly 'seriously considering' a move to sign Matthijs de Ligt this summer.

De Ligt arrived at Bayern Munich in a £68m deal in 2022 but was limited to just 16 league starts last season as they failed to win the league for the first time in over a decade.

United were linked with the defender back in January after reports from Germany suggested the Dutchman wasn't entirely happy with his situation at Bayern.

According to a report from The Athletic, the club have since reignited their interest in the 24-year-old though discussions between the two clubs over a potential deal are yet to have taken place.

Erik ten Hag has been keen to shore up his defence this summer after a slew of injuries forced the club to rely on a makeshift backline throughout much of the latter part of last season.

Casemiro's future at the club remains up in the air after he endured a particularly difficult second season at Old Trafford, whilst Raphael Varane was not offered a new deal as his contract expired.

In a bid to strengthen their options ahead of the coming campaign, United are currently in the process of preparing a second move for Everton starlet Jarrad Branthwaite after a £43m was knocked back by the Toffees last week.

Everton are believed to be holding out for a fee of closer to £70m for the 21-year-old who enjoyed a breakout campaign last term.

However, United's interest in De Ligt is said to be independent of that of Branthwaite, allowing Ten Hag to pursue deals to sign both centre-halves this summer.

After emerging from the famed Ajax academy, De Ligt made his senior debut in 2016 and quickly became a key component to the Dutch giants' success.

Having taken over at Ajax in 2018, Ten Hag made De Ligt the club's youngest-ever captain as they went on to win both the Eredivisie and the KNVB Cup in the 2018-19 season.

De Ligt left Ajax for Juventus the following summer and would go on to make 117 appearances for the Old Lady in all competitions before completing his move to the Bundesliga.