Matthijs de Ligt says Manchester United transfer speculation is 'funny'

Ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt has dismissed the prospect of joining Manchester United this summer by stating that the transfer speculation has been made up by the media.

The Netherlands international recently helped his team secure a domestic double while making progress upto the semi-final stage of the Champions League.

As such, he has been touted to pursue a bigger challenge with the likes of Barcelona and United linked, but De Ligt has rebuffed the speculation associating with the latter.

"I have read the news about Manchester United," he is quoted as saying by Fox Sports. "They are funny stories - people should take the media with a pinch of salt."

Barcelona have been deemed favourites to sign the Dutch in the past few months, but they seem to have reached a deadlock in terms of the personal terms with the teenager.

Still, they are widely fancied to make a fresh approach when the player returns from international duty. De Ligt is set to feature for the Dutch against England in the Nations League semi-final next month.