Matthijs de Ligt under police investigation as Manchester United transfer target accused in Germany: Reports
Manchester United's transfer target Matthijs de Ligt is reportedly under police investigation for a hit-and-run incident in Bavaria. This is according to the German outlet BILD, who claim that the Netherlands international slammed into a parked car close to Bayern Munich's training ground (via SPORTbible).
Instead of informing the authorities, it is believed that the central defender fled the scene. According to this report, it was a witness who called the police after which De Ligt's vehicle was towed away.
However, there seems to be some breathing room for the footballer after a specialist lawyer in Munich stated that fines are often prescribed for such offenses. That being said, the legal practitioner also clarified that the maximum punishment can go up to three years in prison.
A major factor in such cases is reportedly whether the nature of the accident was intentional or not. The police have seemingly not commented on the matter for the time being.
Meanwhile, De Ligt's future as far as his footballing career also remains uncertain, amid links to Manchester United. At the moment, the 24-year-old has three years left on his contract at the Allianz Arena.
When asked whether the Red Devils will sign De Ligt this summer, manager Erik ten Hag told Dutch outlet AD (via SPORTbilbe):
"It remains to be seen whether Matthijs de Ligt will come. I know him well. I wanted to sign him two years ago, but at that time, he was already very far along to join Bayern."
Since joining Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022, the defender has made 73 appearances across competitions for the club, bagging five goals and two assists.
Matthijs de Ligt's deal to Manchester United unaffected by Bayern Munich's transfer collapse - Reports
Bayern Munich were seemingly close to letting go of Matthijs de Ligt to Manchester United this summer. In order to replace the Dutchman, the Bavarian outfit were eyeing a move for Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Jonathan Tah.
However, German outlet Kicker has reported that this move is now ruled out after Bayern Munich failed to meet the selling club's deadlines (via United in Focus). Despite this, it is claimed that De Ligt's transfer to Old Trafford remains unaffected because the 33-time German top-flight winners need to sell players before they buy.
The former Ajax defender's arrival in Manchester will be timely, after new signing Leny Yoro is set to be sidelined for three months due to injury. Manchester United's Premier League campaign gets underway against Fulham on August 16.