Liverpool and Manchester United don't often do each other favours when it comes to the transfer market...
(Image credit: Alamy)
Liverpool legend Joel Matip is close to securing a move to a new club, in a move which could lend Manchester United a helping hand in their own transfer endeavours.
The centre-back, 32, concluded a trophy-laden eight-year spell at Anfield when he left at the end of his contract earlier this summer. He's now on the verge of joining Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.
That's according to Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sport in Germany. He posted on X: "Very positive talks. Matip can really imagine to join Leverkusen as a free agent."
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Joel Matip won four major trophies with Liverpool, including the Premier League title and Champions League (Image credit: Alamy)
Having released Matip, Liverpool would make no financial gain from such a move. However, it might benefit United in a big way.
Erik ten Hag's Red Devils are chasing a defensive upgrade of their own, with Bayern Munich and Netherlands star Matthijs de Ligt high on their list of targets. Transfer supremo Fabrizio Romano confirmed via his YouTube channel earlier this week that the 13-time Premier League champions would be submitting a fresh bid for the 24-year-old – who helped Ten Hag's Ajax to the 2018/19 Champions League semi-finals.
Matthijs de Ligt could be on for his fourth club in five years, having left Ajax for Juventus in 2019 and joined Bayern in 2022 (Image credit: Alamy)
How does Matip come into this, then? Well, Bayern have their eye on Leverkusen centre-half Jonathan Tah – whose departure would leave a hole which Matip could potentially fill.
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Should Bayern secure the signing of Tah, they would be in a stronger position to let De Ligt go. The Dutchman is currently valued by Transfermarktat around £55m, a sum that ought to be well within United's reach.
The domino effect might not end there, though... signing De Ligt could see the Red Devils have something of a defensive clear-out of their own, with Victor Lindelof touted for an Old Trafford exit.
Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...
