Manchester United want to add two young centre-backs to their squad this summer, with Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans potentially set to leave at the end of their contracts and Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof both up for sale too.
One target for the Red Devils is Matthijs de Ligt, who played under Erik ten Hag at Ajax and is now at Bayern Munich. United have apparently made contact with the Dutchman's camp and are leading the race to sign him ahead of Premier League rivals Arsenal.
It's also been reported that the Old Trafford outfit have been keeping an eye on Giorgio Scalvini at Atalanta, alongside two other European giants in Bayern and PSG. The Serie A club are apparently coming under increasing pressure to sell the 20-year-old, with United "ahead" of the pack for his signature.
United lodge Scalvini enquiry
Now, in fresh Scalvini transfer news, it's emerged that United have made contact with Atalanta over a possible deal. The report from Italian outlet Calciomercato also notes that Borussia Dortmund have been in touch too.
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Atalanta have apparently demanded €40m, which is about £34m, to sell Scalvini, and they have no intention of budging. They know that this could go down as pure profit in their books given that the player came through the club's academy.
"Accomplished" Scalvini fits the bill for United
In encouraging news for United elsewhere, journalist Dean Jones says Scalvini is prepared to move on from La Dea this summer and is "very interested" in a switch to the English top-flight. Described as "accomplished" by Yash Shah in a piece for WhoScored, he has to be considered one of the most exciting young centre-halves in European football right now.
Having been nominated for the 2023 Golden Boy award, he was ultimately the best under-21 Italian player at the ceremony. He's already been capped seven times by his country and made his debut aged just 18 years and six months in June 2022, becoming the youngest centre-back ever to play for his country and the eighth-youngest player overall.
Rank
Player
Debut
Age (Y/M/D)
Position
1
Rodolfo Gavinelli
April 1911
16/3/8
Striker
2
Renzo De Vecchi
May 1910
16/3/23
Left-back
3
Simone Pafundi
November 2022
16/8/2
Attacking midfield
4
Gianluigi Donnarumma
September 2016
17/6/7
Goalkeeper
5
Luigi Barbesino
July 1912
18/2/0
Midfielder
6
Giuseppe Bergomi
April 1982
18/3/23
Right-back
7
Davide Santon
June 2009
18/5/4
Left-back
8
Giorgio Scalvini
June 2022
18/6/3
Centre-back
If United want to rebuild their backline with players who can perform at an elite level in the short-term and become superstars long-term, then they should look no further than Scalvini.