Manchester United are reportedly facing race against time for the signing of Bayern Munich defender, Matthijs De Ligt after it emerged that Paris Saint-Germain have made a move to hijack the transfer.

One of the two centre halves that United are currently actively seeking to sign is De Ligt. The other is Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, with whom the Red Devils are believed to have already reached a personal agreement with.

But Branthwaite is valued by Everton at almost £70 million. And United’s initial offer of £43 million (with add-ons) was quickly turned down.

According to multiple sources, the Premier League giants could sign two new central defenders given that Victor Lindelof’s future is unknown and Raphael Varane left as a free agent three days ago.

Their continued pursuits of De Ligt and Branthwaite are unrelated. Stated differently, the Red Devils have the option to sign two players instead of just one.

Following United’s success in negotiations with De Ligt’s representatives over the past few days, a transfer for the player has taken center stage.

United have spoken with Bayern directly, and they are willing to offer De Ligt for about €50 million (£42.5 million). Add-ons may raise the price of the bargain slightly higher.

According to Team Talk, there is a recent update from German outlet BILD that has placed doubt on the move.

The report claimed that PSG have contacted Bayern in order to match United. The 45-cap Netherlands international is genuinely interested in joining the Ligue1 giants, who can outbid United on the financial terms of the deal.

The 20-time English top-flight champions are therefore rushing to finalize a deal and stop a transfer hijack.