Matthijs de Ligt’s asking price has reportedly been rejected by Manchester United and Bayern Munich.
In the wake of Raphael Varane’s departure, United is hoping to add a new central defender this summer.
This month, Everton rejected a proposal of £45 million for Jarrad Branthwaite. United’s primary target for the position is Branthwaite, and Everton is reportedly holding out for a deal of more than £70 million.
De Ligt is one of the names United is shortlisting, but they are also looking at other possibilities.
In his CaughtOffside blog, Bild’s Christian Falk claims that Bayern is hoping to sign De Ligt for €70 million (£59.3 million) this summer.
However, United has made it clear that they are only willing to pay almost half of that amount—€35 million (£29.6 million)—for the 24-year-old.
Bayern would take a fee closer to €50 million (£42 million) from United, who are operating under a tight budget in the summer window, according to a report from Sky Germany earlier this month.
Erik ten Hag, who spent little over a season at Ajax working with the defense, is rumored to still be a big fan of De Ligt.
De Ligt was signed by Bayern for €77 million (£65.6 million) in July 2022, although he has had injury struggles while in Germany. He only made 16 starts in the Bundesliga during the previous season.
Asked about his future at Bayern earlier this month De Ligt, who is with the Netherlands squad for Euro 2024, said: ‘I’ve already said this is not the time for me to think about it.
‘We’re playing at the Euros now and that’s very important for me and the national team. That’s why I can’t say now what I think about this situation.
‘But what I can say is that I’ve now played my second season at Bayern – I’m very happy. For now I’m focused on the Euros and then we’ll see what happens.’
Bayern, meanwhile, are already targeting at least one new centre-back this summer and are in talks to sign Jonathan Tah from Bayer Leverkusen.