Manchester United have agreed a deal to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich.
The move will be worth €50m (£42.9m), with an initial €45m (£38.6m) plus €5m (£4.3m) in add-ons.
The transfer is subject to De Ligt passing a medical, with personal terms not expected to be a problem.
He would need to be registered by midday on Thursday to be available for Manchester United’s opening Premier League match against Fulham on Friday.
The 24-year-old has spent two seasons at Bayern Munich since signing from Juventus, playing 73 times and scoring five goals.
De Ligt also played under Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag at Ajax, where they won the Eredivisie in 2019.
In a separate deal, United have agreed many of the details of a deal for Bayern Munich’s right-back Noussair Mazraoui.
They are expected to proceed with that move once Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s transfer to West Ham has been completed.
The clubs are now close to an agreement on all aspects of a deal for the defender. Wan-Bissaka’s exit terms were still under discussion, but those are now not thought to be an issue.
There is an increased confidence from all parties deal will now go through.
Would De Ligt help ease Man Utd defensive injury crisis?
De Ligt would be United’s second centre-back signing of the summer after the £59m arrival of Leny Yoro.
The 18-year-old impressed in his pre-season debut against Rangers but faces a three-month stint on the sidelines after suffering a foot injury against Arsenal.
United’s defence was ravaged by injuries last season and that crisis has spilled into this campaign.
Ahead of their clash with rivals Manchester City in the Community Shield, Ten Hag said there was a “question mark” over the fitness of Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw.
With Yoro and Tyrell Malacia already ruled out, the United manager may have to give substantial minutes to Lisandro Martinez and Diogo Dalot who are yet to feature in pre-season.
