Berbatov: Van Dijk could give Man Utd a transfer boost

By Joshua Walters

Manchester United are reportedly on the heals of Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt, and Dimitar Berbatov thinks Virgil van Dijk could “make a real difference” for the Red Devils in the pursuit.

De Ligt has reportedly attracted interests from some big clubs in Europe with Manchester United and Barcelona in the fray.

Manchester United can now go ahead with their targets in the coming summer transfer, following the confirmation of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who reportedly has made the Dutch defender his number-one target, as permanent manager.

Van Dijk plays with De Ligt for the Netherlands national team and Berbatov is convinced that his Dutch teammate can help United in the hunt by convincing him to chose the Premier League over others.

“One player I would love to see at Old Trafford is Ajax defender, Matthijs de Ligt, although I know every big club in Europe is after him. I watched him play against Real Madrid and he looks the real deal – so confident and assured for a player of his age,” Berbatov told Betfair.

“Having his international team-mate Virgil Van Dijk already in the Premier League could be a boost for any English team chasing De Ligt.

"The Liverpool man will be telling him how good the league is and that can make a real difference to where you choose to go.”

Berbatov added: “United have spent a lot of money in recent seasons, so they need to make sure they don’t spend for spending’s sake; they need to think carefully about what they need and choose wisely.

“In attack, with Rashford, Martial, Lukaku and Lingard, they have everything they need, but I think they need to focus on two areas; central defence and a central midfielder who can free up Paul Pogba to play in attacking areas.”