Ryan Gravenberch has revealed Manchester United tried to sign him from Ajax this summer but he had already “given his word” to Bayern Munich.
The midfielder is set to complete a £21million switch to the German champions but Erik ten Hag, who had given him his senior debut at Ajax, made a late attempt to try and convince the 20-year-old to join him in moving to Old Trafford this year.
United are in the market for midfield reinforcements after Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard were among a glut of departures at the end of their respective contracts. Donny van de Beek, Scott McTominay and Fred are the only senior midfielders on United’s books, although Andreas Pereira and James Garner are returning from loans.
Ten Hag is actively trying to bolster his ranks ahead of the new campaign and while Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong – also formerly of Ajax – is top of their list of desired midfielder, the Dutchman also held tentative talks with Gravenberch, the player has confirmed.
Gravenberch told an interview with De Telegraaf: “ Manchester United is a very big and nice club. But I already had such a good feeling at Bayern and I had them given my word.”
Gravenberch is not the only Ajax star moving to Munich this summer as he will be joining team-mate Noussair Mazraoui at the Allianz Arena. The right-back was out of contract at the Dutch club and will be bolstering the ranks of the Bayern squad.
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The midfielder added: “I like the fact that Nous [Noussair Mazraoui] is going there [Bayern Munich] too. It's always nice when you already know someone.”
The 20-year-old added on his impending transfer to the Bundesliga: “My mother will come to live with me in Munich. And my father will be here a lot to take care of all kinds of things, so that I can fully focus on football. I hope to find a house in the coming weeks. Otherwise, I will spend the first few weeks in a hotel.”
Gravenberch is a physically imposing midfielder who also possesses great technical skills. He was the youngest player to make his debut under Ten Hag at the Dutch giants, going on to net 12 goals in 103 appearances. The midfielder won five trophies at Ajax including three Eredivisie titles and has been capped 10 times by the Netherlands at international level.
