Jamie Carragher wanted Liverpool to complete transfer for $75m Man Utd target

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher's worst fears could be realized should arch-rivals Manchester United complete a deal to sign Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt.

The Dutchman looks set to be available this summer, just two years after he arrived at the Allianz Arena for a whopping $81.5 million (£68m/€80m) from Juventus. Having burst onto the scene for Ajax as a teenager during its 2019 run to the Champions League semi-final, de Ligt earned himself a move to the Old Lady in Serie A where he spent two years before joining Bayern.

And now he could be on the move once again, with de Ligt potentially set to be reunited with his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford. CaughtOffside report ten Hag is keen on bringing the 24-year-old defender to the Premier League, with Bayern open to selling the Dutchman in order to bring players in this summer.

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But while United is interested in bringing de Ligt in with Raphael Varane having departed at the end of the season on a free transfer, the red Manchester outfit and Bayern remain some way apart when it comes to agreeing on a fee for the Dutch defender.

Bayern reportedly wants around $75 million (£59.3m/€70m) for de Ligt, a fee that would give it some space to manoeuvre in the transfer market this summer. United reportedly only wants to pay half of that fee.

However, should the two work out a deal for de Ligt, then it could be a move which would leave former Reds star Jamie Carragher frustrated. Back in 2019 during Ajax’s storied Champions League run, which saw it miss out on making the final thanks to Lucas Moura’s dramatic hat-trick for Spurs against the Dutch side, Carragher was left stunned by just how ahead of his years de Ligt was.

“I’d love that!” Carragher told the Echo when asked about de Ligt playing for Liverpool. “I have never seen such a good defender at 19-years-old. He plays as if he’s 29 and at his peak already. You can only imagine how good he will be when he actually is 29.”