Manchester United have signed Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich, the Premier League club announced on Tuesday.
Fees for the pair were not disclosed by the English giants, but British media reports estimated the duo had arrived at Old Trafford for a combined £60 million (AU$116 million).
Netherlands defender De Ligt, 25, will now join up again with United manager Erik ten Hag, having played under him at Dutch side Ajax, after agreeing a five-year contract with the option of another year.
“As soon as I heard that Manchester United wanted me, I felt an excitement about the opportunity of a new challenge at such a historic club,” said De Ligt.
“In the conversations that followed, I was impressed by the vision that the football leadership set out, and the role they saw for me in it.
“Erik ten Hag shaped the early stages of my career so he knows how to get the best out of me and I cannot wait to work with him again.”
De Ligt has already won league titles in three different countries with Ajax (Netherlands), Juventus (Italy) and Bayern (Germany).
He added: “I know what it takes to succeed at the highest level, and I’m determined to continue that record at this special club.”
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De Ligt bolsters United’s central defence following the departure of Raphael Varane, with fellow summer transfer window arrival Leny Yoro in danger of being sidelined for up to three months with a foot injury sustained against Arsenal in pre-season.
Mazraoui, 26, also played under Ten Hag at Ajax, winning three league titles with the Dutch club and another with Bayern.
The fullback has also made 28 appearances for Morocco and reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
He has signed a four-year deal with the option of a further year and his arrival comes on the day that fullback Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s departure to Premier League rivals West Ham was confirmed.
“It’s an incredible feeling to be a Manchester United player, and I cannot wait to walk out at Old Trafford wearing the red shirt,” said Mazraoui.
“I know that I’m joining the club at an exciting time; everyone I’ve spoken to has the same ambition for us to win trophies together and I can feel the determination to achieve that.”
The new arrivals are set to be available for United’s season opener against Fulham at Old Trafford on Friday, with the Red Devils desperate to improve on last season’s eighth-place finish.
That left United a huge 31 points adrift of champions Manchester City. They did beat their local rivals in the FA Cup final before returning to Wembley last weekend to lose to Pep Guardiola’s side on penalties in the Community Shield.
ATLETICO SIGN MAN CITY STRIKER ALVAREZ
Atletico Madrid signed striker Julian Alvarez from Manchester City on Monday in a deal reported to be worth up to 85 million euros (AU$140 million).
“The club has reached an agreement with Manchester City for the transfer of the Argentine forward, who has signed a contract for the next six seasons,” said Atletico in a statement.
Spanish reports say Atletico will pay $124 million for the forward, with potentially $16 million more in bonuses.
The 24-year-old arrived at City for just $26 million in January 2022 from River Plate, winning two Premier League trophies and the Champions League among other silverware.
Alvarez also helped Argentina lift the World Cup trophy in December 2022 and the Copa America in 2021 and 2024.
“Today I say goodbye to this amazing club, with a lot of emotion,” Alvarez told City’s club website.
“These have been two very special years. During this time, I have grown and learnt a lot — both as a player and as a person.”
Alvarez scored 36 goals for City in 103 appearances across all competitions.
“He’s incredibly loved by the team for his behaviour but like I said many times for many players, he wants to leave and have a new challenge,” said Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola last week.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico have also signed Robin Le Normand and Alexander Sorloth as they reinforce heavily to compete with Real Madrid and Barcelona, following a disappointing fourth-place La Liga finish last season.
Atletico begin the new campaign with a visit to face Villarreal on August 19.
SPURS ON BRINK OF MEGA $126M COUP
Ange Postecoglou has got his man.
The Australian manager of Premier League side Tottenham wanted a new star striker, 12 months on from the departure of legendary club and England captain Harry Kane.
Now Spurs are on the brink of signing their number one target – Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth – according to widespread reports.
Solanke has a £65 million ($A126m) release clause, but a deal could be struck for slightly less according to some reports. Regardless, it will smash Bournemouth’s club record.
Solanke, a Chelsea academy product who struggled to impress at Liverpool, enjoyed the finest season of his career, with 19 Premier League goals seeing him unlucky to miss out on an England call-up for the Euros.
Just as impressive as his goalscoring form was his link-up play, crucial to Postecoglou’s free-flowing attacking approach.
Postecoglou said on Friday: “I have always felt that if you get the recruitment right then whoever it is hits the ground running.
“We signed Mickey van de Ven three days before the first game last year against Brentford and we threw him straight in. He literally hit the ground running.
“We are trying to identify players who fit into our style of football. There will be a bit of adjustment but hopefully they will already have those qualities to come into the group and contribute straight away.
“That is my expectation when we sign someone. They will be ready to contribute from the moment they arrive.”
Yet he emphasised that any new signing would not bear the weight of replacing club legend Kane.
“We showed last year that we were still a threatening team going forward without Harry. We are talking about a generational talent here, he was never going to be replaced, but invariably there will always be comparisons,” Postecoglou added.
“It’s pretty evident from the way we play that we are never going to be reliant on one player. When we are up and running we can score from many different areas.
“Hopefully the striker, when he is playing in our system, is a beneficiary of that as well as a contributor.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s overfull squad looks set to be stretched even farther with the club set to sign winger Pedro Neto from Wolves.
It would be their ninth arrival of the window, with the club desperately needing to offload some of their almost 45 contracted players.
Chelsea reportedly agreed a deal worth up to £54m ($A105m) for Neto, and are also closing in on the signing of striker Samu Omorodion from Atlético Madrid for a reported £34.5m.