Manchester United are reportedly £13m short of meeting Bayern Munich's asking price for defensive duo Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui.
Both Dutch centre-back De Ligt and Moroccan right-back Mazraoui thrived under the wing of Erik ten Hag at Ajax, with the former shining during their run to the 2018-19 Champions League semi-finals.
The Red Devils boss is now pushing to reunite with the duo at Old Trafford after learning that they are surplus to requirements at the Allianz Arena under new Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany.
The 20-time English champions are already said to have shaken hands with the pair on personal terms, but a report earlier this week claimed that Bayern had refused their opening offer.
According to The Sun, Man United's first combined bid for De Ligt and Mazraoui was worth £51m, but Bayern are instead holding out for a £64m package to let both defenders depart.
© Imago
Bayern refusing to budge on De Ligt, Mazraoui demands
The Bavarians' valuation has supposedly caused some friction behind the scenes, as De Ligt and Mazraoui were informed earlier this summer that they were not in Kompany's plans and therefore free to depart.
The pair expected Bayern to relent on their asking price as a result, especially as Kompany's side are trying to sign Jonathan Tah from Bayer Leverkusen and Desire Doue from Rennes, but the German giants have not done so.
Bayern's refusal of Man United's opening offer supposedly led to 'bemused' agent Rafaela Pimenta - who represents both of them - to ask the club whether the playing status of De Ligt and Mazraoui had changed, but the Allianz Arena bosses insisted that they were still on the transfer list.
De Ligt was not included in Bayern's squad for their pre-season tour of South Korea after his involvement with the Netherlands at Euro 2024, although the ex-Juventus man did not play a single minute at the competition.
In contrast, Mazraoui did board the plane to Asia as part of a 26-man troupe, and he came off the bench in the second half of Saturday's 2-1 friendly victory over Tottenham Hotspur in Seoul.
Man United Bayern swoop 'could hinge on defender sale'
© Imago
Man United had their eye on De Ligt even before new signing Leny Yoro suffered his severe foot injury, which will sideline him for three months, as they were priced out of a move for Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite.
Meanwhile, Mazraoui is being targeted as an ideal successor to Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who is in the final 12 months of his deal and is at the centre of a Premier League and Serie A transfer tussle.
West Ham United - who were formerly in the running for Mazraoui too - have apparently offered Man United £10m for the ex-Crystal Palace star, but they are after at least £15m and potentially as much as £18m.
Italian champions Inter Milan are supposedly in the mix for Wan-Bissaka's signature as well, though, and the Nerazzurri might be prepared to bow to Man United's demands.
The Red Devils have already brought in around £40m through the sales of Mason Greenwood, Willy Kambwala, Donny van de Beek and Alvaro Fernandez, but their hopes of signing De Ligt and Mazraoui could apparently hinge on the prospective transfer of Wan-Bissaka.
Ben Knapton
