Report: Mino Raiola Could Persuade Matthijs de Ligt to Reject Manchester United

Manchester United's hopes of signing Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt may be decided by his agent, Mino Raiola, who could take a stand against the Red Devils because of Paul Pogba's situation. 

Raiola represents De Ligt and "could persuade his client to join another club," The Sun's Dave Fraser reported (h/t Joe Bray of the Manchester Evening News). Jose Mourinho's falling-out with Pogba has been one of the most widely covered angles of United's downturn in form this season.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Romelu Lukaku—who is no longer in business with the Dutch agent—all joined United in recent years with Raiola as their representative.

Raiola also helped to oversee Pogba's Old Trafford comeback in 2016, when he returned to the club after four years at Juventus. But United's De Ligt pursuit could be held up if Raiola wants his client to go elsewhere.

Club legend Paul Scholes is no longer officially tied to United, but Raiola made a rare appearance on Twitter in August to lambast the ex-Red Devil for his criticism of Pogba:

Central defence has been an area of ongoing concern for United in recent years. Eric Bailly arrived in 2016 to many plaudits, but he's since lost his status under Mourinho, with Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones also exchanging minutes.

De Ligt is only 19 but has already captained Ajax and has started in all nine of his senior appearances for the Netherlands. He seems to be on course for superstardom, and ex-Oranje midfielder Wesley Sneijder rates him as one to keep an eye on, per Dutch Football:

But one has to ask whether United appeals to a player with such major prospects. They could undoubtedly compete financially with any other club in the world, but Mourinho's uncertain future and poor results mean Old Trafford hardly looks the most appealing destination.

Liam Corless of the Manchester Evening News reported on United's failure to land a raft of centre-back targets in the summer for a variety of reasons, transfers on which executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward would have had a big say.

Toby Alderweireld, 29, was overlooked because of age and cost, Harry Maguire was deemed too costly at £75 million, Yerry Mina's agent wanted too much money and Diego Godin used United's interest to get a new Atletico Madrid contract.

De Ligt would go a long way to improve an ailing defence, as well as offering a potential mainstay at centre-back for a decade or more. Sports writer Gavan Casey highlighted how badly they need stability at the back:

Sport reported Mourinho is keen to secure De Ligt as the leader of his backline and that United will "bid hard" for the player (h/t Naveen Ullal of Sport Witness). However, the Catalan newspaper also reported Manchester City's €60 million (£52.6 million) offer for his services is the highest Ajax have received.

Securing UEFA Champions League qualification could be crucial to staying in the De Ligt race, but Raiola could take the transfer saga beyond United's reach regardless.