New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS): Manchester United have made significant ground in their hopes to strengthen their backline on Saturday as the Mancunian club has agreed to a deal with FC Bayern to sign centre-back Matthijs De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui in two separate deals.

United have agreed to a deal worth 45 million euros and five million in add-ons for the Dutch centre-back. Simultaneously they have also agreed to a 15 million euro plus five million in add-ons deal for Noussair Mazraoui, according to reports by The Athletic.

They had shown active interest in De Ligt, the Dutch defender who played under United manager Erik Ten Hag at Ajax when the team reached the UEFA Champions League semifinal in 2019, at the beginning of the transfer window but they ended up signing the 18-year-old French prodigy Leny Yoro for a hefty price tag.

However, Yoro was injured in their pre-season match against Arsenal and is expected to miss out on at least the opening couple of months of action.

It was of utmost importance to Manchester United to make sales by clearing out dead rubber in the club which they started by selling Mason Greenwood to Marseille. The report went on to state that the club has reached an agreement with West Ham to offload Aaron Wan Bissaka to West Ham United.

Both De Ligt and Mazraoui are expected to join United on a five-year contract that includes the option to extend by an additional 12 months whereas there has been no confirmation on the length of Wan Bissaka's contract with West Ham.

The Red Devils need to focus and invest heavily in defence as the team had finished eighth in the Premier League last season and finished with a goal difference of minus one after conceding 58 goals through the course of the campaign.