Manchester United are reportedly still very keen to work out a deal for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
According to ESPN, Frenkie de Jong is still on the radar of Manchester United as manager Erik ten Hag is still in pursuit of the Barcelona midfielder and wants to make him the Red Devils’ next marquee signing at Old Trafford.
Manchester United remained hot on the heels of de Jong almost throughout the entire summer transfer window but had to concede defeat as the player was pretty defiant in his stance of remaining at Barcelona.
The Dutch midfielder was one of the players ten Hag developed during his time at Ajax, and the Manchester United boss had wanted to replicate a similar kind of atmosphere with the help of the 25-year-old at Old Trafford.
Barcelona had been deeply submerged in financial difficulties as a La Liga ruling did not allow them to register some players at first due to their irregular financial status.
But the Barcelona management activated a number of economic levers in an attempt to push their financial limits. The ploy seemed to have worked as the Catalans registered a plethora of summer arrivals, including the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde; and their wage limit also soared to €656 million.
Manchester United are also believed to be one of the suitors of Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, who offers a similar kind of output. But the English international will fetch an enormous amount of money as the likes of Real Madrid and Chelsea will also be vying for his service.
Manchester United and Barcelona has reportedly had agreed to a fee of €85 million as the Catalan giants were in dire need of some cash flow. Also, Barcelona are yet to clear de Jong’s deferred wages, and these factors could have worked restricting a move to the Premier League.
De Jong has been used in the defensive midfield role sporadically, and the player was expected to fill in the void once Sergio Busquets leaves the club. But there are reservations regarding his appetite to succeed in that role, and Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi has emerged as a possible target for Barcelona.
Manchester United would want to take advantage of this situation and will look to raid Barcelona to get a deal done for de Jong. They already had a gentleman’s agreement over the potential fee and a potential move could be on the cards.
