Manchester United have set an ultimatum for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong after speaking to his representatives in the last few days.
It’s understood that United would like an answer from De Jong in the coming days as to whether he wants to join former manager Eric Ten Hag in the rebuild at Old Trafford or whether he wants to remain in Catalonia.
The Dutchman thrived under the next United boss at Ajax between 2016 and 2019 and is supposedly available for somewhere in the region of £65 million if Barcelona can replace him adequately.
Barca club president Joan Laporta is open to offloading players this summer as he looks to fund a stadium renovation that may cost up to £1.3 billion, while the club also owe £331 million in deferred wages.
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Ten Hag is said to be highly interested in acquiring the player who was a huge part of the success of his Ajax team in the 2018/19 season that reached the Champions League semi-finals.
However, both De Jong himself and Barcelona manager Xavi have reiterated several times that they hope the midfielder stays in Spain. It’s also believed that United’s lack of Champions League football could hinder their chances of signing the player.
A report in the Spanish media on Thursday said that Barca are currently pursuing both Robert Lewandowski and Manchester City star Bernardo Silva, and if they can secure at least one of them then they’d be willing to offload De Jong.
De Jong arrived at Barca in the summer of 2019 for an initial £65 million, and has been picked in all but one of Xavi’s league and European games since the manager’s arrival at the club.
Topics: Frenkie De Jong, Barcelona, Manchester United, Transfers
Alfie Culshaw