European giants 'express interest' in Man Utd target Matthijs de Ligt

Manchester United's pursuit of Bayern Munich centre-back Matthijs de Ligt has been complicated by reports claiming Paris Saint-Germain have now expressed an interest in the Dutchman.

De Ligt is free to leave Bayern this summer as new manager Vincent Kompany eyes a reshuffle of his defence, with the German giants expected to demand a fee of around €50m (£42m) to agree to a sale.

United have been in talks with both Bayern and De Ligt's representatives as they seek to strike a deal this summer, but it has now emerged that PSG could be preparing a rival bid.

According to SPORT BILD, PSG have reached out to Bayern to express their interest in getting a deal for De Ligt over the line.

PSG have contacted Bayern over both De Ligt and winger Kingsley Coman, sensing the chance to snap up a handful of bargains from the Bundesliga side during a summer of transition.

Kompany has made it clear he is prepared to count on both Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae, while there are plans to land Bayer Leverkusen's Jonathan Tah who, alongside new signing Hiroki Ito, has been earmarked for a significant role this coming season.

That decision has left Bayern open to offloading De Ligt, much to the frustration of a number of fans who started a petition to stop club officials from listening to interest.

The petition, which describes the decision to sell De Ligt as "absolutely horrible" has close to 15,000 signatures at the time of writing.

Meanwhile, United remain in talks with Bayern with a view to agreeing a fee, with the Red Devils aware De Ligt's high wages could still make this an expensive transfer even if the up-front cost is comparatively affordable.