Man Utd: Ten Hag favourite De Ligt tops ranking of Netherlands squad on Reds transfer chances | OneFootball

Frenkie de Jong, Denzel Dumfries and Brian Brobbey have all been linked with Man Utd.

Eight of Erik ten Hag’s signings for Manchester United have Eredivisie experience, including a trio he has previously managed, with another three coming from the Netherlands. He has a type.

With that in mind and recent links to several Dutch players, we have ranked the entire Netherlands squad by how likely they are to be snapped up by Red Devils manager Ten Hag.

The plan was to use the most recent squad called up by Ronald Koeman but there were a few big names absent so we have added notable recent call-ups too. We will put a little asterisk next to their names for you.

30) Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) This would be cinema and we are here for it.

29) Daley Blind (Girona) He knows better by now.

28) Mark Flekken (Brentford) Erik ten Hag already has an ex-Ajax goalkeeper. That’s enough to feed his fetish.

27) Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool)* Unsurprisingly, Manchester United were linked quite heavily with Gravenberch during his benchwarming days at Bayern Munich. The former Ajax youngster left his home country expected to become the next big thing in Germany but his fate was similar to that of former Golden Boy winner Renato Sanches.

He is now at Anfield and very unlikely to swap Merseyside for Manchester. The only positive for him if this transfer comes to fruition is that he probably won’t need to move house.

26) Cody Gakpo (Liverpool) A bit like Gravenberch, the Red Devils were the team everyone expected Gakpo to join before he was surprisingly snapped up by Liverpool. If they couldn’t bring him in from PSV for £35m, they are hardly going to be able to prise him from their arch rivals.

25) Jordan Teze (PSV) He might be Dutch but he isn’t better than Diogo Dalot or Aaron Wan-Bissaka. There are also better Netherlands right-back options out there.

24) Nathan Ake (Manchester City)* Omar Berrada’s move to Old Trafford will surely result in transfer links to Manchester City players, and if it does, it will not be regular starters potentially on the move, it will be fringe players. Ake might become that next season, but we all know Pep Guardiola loves to rotate.

23) Bart Verbruggen (Brighton) The rotational goalkeeper system with Jason Steele might become too much for young Bart, who will probably fancy his chances a little bit more against Andre Onana. Imagine someone reading that sentence 18 months ago.

22) Memphis Depay (Atletico Madrid)* Like Blind, he surely knows better. But unlike Blind, he has a point to prove and might want to prove it before he retires.

21) Justin Bijlow (Feyenoord) Another goalkeeper. He has more of a chance than Verbruggen given the fact he is still in the Netherlands and more likely to be willing to play second fiddle at a club of Manchester United’s size.

20) Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig) Don’t do it, kid. Don’t do it.

19) Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan) Reijnders only joined Milan last summer but you know what these Italian clubs are like; they love a financial crisis and the ensuing desperation to sell players.

18) Jerdy Schouten (PSV) Schouten also earned a transfer last summer, leaving Italy to return to his home country, where he is playing for Eredivisie leaders PSV.

At the age of 27, he will vaguely remember when United were good so might be intrigued by the prospect of joining. It feels unlikely, even if Ten Hag wants a new midfielder and loves his Dutchies.

17) Calvin Stengs (Feyenoord) Stengs is a tidy attacking midfielder with an eye for a goal. He won’t be coming to Old Trafford any time soon, though.

16) Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona)* So…you’re telling me there’s a chance? He’s going to cave eventually. It might be when he is over the hill but it’s got to happen.

15) Mats Wieffer (Feyenoord) The seven-cap defensive midfielder would be available for a respectable price but probably wouldn’t take Ten Hag’s midfield to another level.

14) Wout Weghorst (Hoffenheim) He Knows The Club from a brief, and underwhelming, stint on loan last season. This would be our favourite transfer out of all 30 players.

13) Quilindschy Hartman (Feyenoord) The man who replaced the Red Devils’ 2022 signing Tyrell Malacia as Feyenoord’s starting left-back. It would be so Manchester United if they bought him.

12) Jorrel Hato (Ajax) Was like 12 years old when Ten Hag was at Ajax so he’s probably not interested. Top prospect, mind.

11) Kenneth Taylor (Ajax)* This is a player we like quite a bit. Taylor is a tidy playmaker and feels well-suited to Premier League football. The 21-year-old has not been involved in too many transfer rumours, which comes as quite a surprise. United could do a lot worse.

10) Donyell Malen (Borussia Dortmund) Signing a right winger from Dortmund went swimmingly last time United did it, so why not try again?

9) Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta) Koopmeiners has established himself as one of the best midfielders in Serie A with his superb performances for Atalanta and could be the perfect Casemiro replacement at Old Trafford.

The 20-cap Dutchman would cost a pretty penny but he might just be worth it.

8) Martin de Roon (Atalanta) De Roon is out of contract at the end of the season so we actually like this one. With off-the-back-of-a-World-Cup signing Sofyan Amrabat failing to live up to expectations, the former Middlesbrough man – who can play defensive midfield and as a centre-back – could be an ideal addition.

7) Joey Veerman (PSV) One of ten players we recently endorsed for a move to the Premier League, Veerman has a wand of a right foot and needs to come to England for his prime years.

There are not many better dead-ball specialists out there; the only question mark over this one is if he can handle the pace of the league. He also isn’t really a defensive midfielder, nor is he an attacking midfielder. But yes, we like Veerman a lot. Smells a bit Donny van de Beek.

6) Stefan de Vrij (Inter) Replacing Raphael Varane with De Vrij would be pointless and should be ruled out. But Netherlands.

5) Denzel Dumfries (Inter) Denzel, you were my inspiration for this and I thank you. He has been linked with the Red Devils longer than De Jong and a transfer feels pretty realistic. In fact, it is probably the first realistic one on this list, 25 players deep.

Ten Hag reportedly turned down the option to swap Dumfries with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, which feels a bit strange but also makes sense. The Dutchman doesn’t suit a back four, but as a right-wing-back, there are not many better out there.

4) Thijs Dallinga (Toulouse) The next two players could be the ideal striker signing for Ten Hag, who is eager to lift the pressure off Rasmus Hojlund.

Dallinga is a former Emmen, Groningen and Excelsior striker who is currently performing well for Toulouse in France. He has ten goals in 26 games this term and shouldn’t cost too much.

We like it and it makes sense, which means United will ignore him and bring back Weghorst.

3) Brian Brobbey (Ajax)* Links to Brobbey have accelerated in recent weeks with talk of a new striker coming to Old Trafford. The Ajax striker even discussed the move last week, saying he hasn’t spoken to Ten Hag in a while, which feels like a nice hint to keep it that way.

We also love his name and feel confident he will join Harvey Barnes and Oscar Bobb in the closed group of players whose full name must be said whenever they are mentioned.

2) Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen)* A £34m summer release clause will make Frimpong’s future a massive talking point come the end of the season. Arsenal, Real Madrid and United are all believed to be interested, which comes as no surprise.

Frimpong has been the best attacking right-back in world football over the last year and is a massive reason Bayer Leverkusen are set to win the title. Seven goals and ten assists this season is a frightening return and if the 23-year-old is still in the Bundesliga in 2024/25, we will be very surprised.

1) Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern Munich)* The top five on this list could all join Manchester United in the summer and we wouldn’t bat an eyelid. The reason De Ligt is the most likely to join is pretty simple: United need a centre-back, he isn’t very happy in Munich, and Ten Hag managed him at Ajax.

Bayern will surely be open to selling De Ligt at the end of the season and you’d expect a fee in the region of £60m to do the trick.

At 24 years of age, the Bayern man could form a lovely partnership with Lisandro Martinez for years to come.