Ajax 'have agreement with Man Utd for De Ligt transfer'

Manchester United have been given a boost in their quest to sign Matthijs De Ligt after it was revealed that the Premier League club have an agreement in place with Ajax.

The 19-year-old is expected to leave the Dutch champions in the summer and has been linked with almost all of Europe's elite clubs.

Talks between Juve and Ajax over a fee for De Ligt, though, have stalled and that has paved the way for other clubs to come back into the mix.

But according to French journalist Julien Laurens, United are also well placed to bring in the talented teenager should a move to Italy collapse.

Laurens told ESPN : "There’s a chance where Ajax will lose a little bit of patience and say ‘hang on a minute, PSG agreed, United agreed. In that case we stop talking to Juventus and De Ligt can choose between the clubs that we actually have an agreement in place'.”

It had been thought that a fee in the region of £75m would be needed to prise De Ligt away from Ajax this summer, but reports this week suggest the Dutch giants may have increased the asking price.

The Eredivisie heavyweights are now believed to be demanding a fee closer to £78m, which would eclipse the £75m Liverpool paid to sign Virgil van Dijk last January in a world-record move for a defender.

Juve's bid is said to be £18m short of that valuation, leading to talks over a deal to stall.