Bayern Munich reportedly turned down Manchester United’s combined offer for Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui of Manchester United.
With new £52 million signing Leny Yoro out for three months due to a fractured foot, Erik ten Hag has suffered a severe blow.
With Raphael Varane’s departure, United will begin the season without a center defender due to Yoro’s injury.
In-depth negotiations on De Ligt have taken place between United and Bayern, but the German team’s €50 million (£42 million) asking price has been rejected by United.
United have also agreed personal terms with Mazraoui but are yet to reach an agreement with Bayern Munich over a fee.
West Ham had agreed a deal worth €15.5m (£12.7m) plus a further €4m (£3.4m) in add-ons with Bayern but Mazraoui rejected a move and is holding out for a deal to be reached with United.
According to The Athletic, United have now made a move to sign both De Ligt and Mazraoui by submitting a joint bid to Bayern.
However, the report claims that Bayern have told United that they will need to submit a ‘higher fee’ in order to sign both players this summer.
It’s also claimed that the camp of De Ligt and Mazraoui, who are both represented by, Rafaela Pimenta, are ‘bemused’ by Bayern’s response to United’s offer.
Bayern have informed both De Ligt and Mazraoui that they are not part of Vincent Kompany’s plans for the upcoming campaign.
Speaking on Thursday, Bayern’s CEO, Jan-Christian Dreesen, reiterated that the club will sell players before the end of the window.
‘Buying and selling are part of the same business, we haven’t just wanted to sell players this year,’ Dreesen said.
‘It hasn’t been any different in recent years. If you look at what we’ve done in recent years, we’ve also sold players. That’s part of our business, because at the end of the day you always want to freshen up a team.
‘And that means that we have to sell players, because otherwise the new players won’t get a chance to play and the young players won’t get a chance either.
‘We still have a whole month of transfer time ahead of us and a few things will happen. It’s a bit like the water levels of the Isar – it changes every day.’