Erik ten Hag and Manchester United's pursuit of Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong is getting all the more confusing as reports continue to come out.
This might just be the strangest transfer saga that we've ever seen before, and United fans went through the difficulties of acquiring Jadon Sancho after two years.
Reports from earlier this week said that the Spanish club have told De Jong that he must leave the club this summer, as Barcelona need to balance their excessive wage bill.
Advert
This was shortly followed by a confusing press conference involving Mateu Alemany, club director, and Joan Laporta, club president.
The latter of the two said that these rumours were untrue, as he doubled-down on his stance from two weeks ago.
"It is not true that the club is forced to sell Frenkie de Jong." Laporta said. "His trip to the United States will be decided by Xavi."
While his colleague did reiterate De Jong's importance to the team, he also admitted that the club needs players to depart the club.
Advert
"Frenkie is a very important player. We totally count on him, but Fair Play forces us to sell players."
There have also been a number of reports from Spain which claim that De Jong does not want to leave Barcelona whatsoever.
Since then, Saturday afternoon saw De Jong announced as a member of Barcelona's squad to tour the US this summer.
He was seen on the plane in a video that the club posted on social media.
This, of course, continued to cast doubt in the minds of United fans that want the deal to happen.
Advert
However, latest reports from Steve Bates of The Mirror give further insight into the Dutchman's current situation.
Sources that are close to the player say that privately he is in 'constant dialogue' with Ten Hag and is willing to join him at United.
However, the 25-year-old and his agent believe that if they make their true stance known in public then it will weaken their position regarding the money that De Jong is owed by Barcelona.
The midfielder has £17 million worth of deferred wages after agreeing to do so to help Barcelona's struggles due to the global pandemic.
Advert
Ten Hag and United's hierarchy are said to know about this strategy from De Jong. This is why football director John Murtough and CEO Richard Arnold took a trip to meet with Barcelona officials in Spain last week.
United have discussed with Barca about paying De Jong's wages and, in turn, reducing the transfer fee for the player accordingly. However, complicated tax implications, as well as abiding by UEFA and FIFA codes of practice, have made that a non-starter.
The implications with this transfer are frustrating for supporters, who want to see De Jong in United red as soon as possible, or to start looking at other options.
However, Ten Hag seems to be willing to wait for the player who he deems vital to the project he plans to build at Old Trafford.
Advert
The aforementioned report adds that while the manager told United chiefs weeks ago that he didn't want the chase for De Jong to become a protracted transfer saga lasting all summer, He has recognised that the wage issue is beyond United's control.
He has told negotiators to keep pressing for the deal to happen and is willing to gamble to wait until the end of the transfer window to seal the deal. He is yet to advice Murtough or Arnold to pursue alternative targets.
De Jong is seen as central to Ten Hag's plans by the man himself, and was the first player that the new manager spoke to when he agreed to take over the reigns at the Manchester club.
Ten Hag is convinced that his former Ajax star can help United close the gap on the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool with his ability to dictate the tempo in the middle of the park.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Manchester United, Manchester United Transfer News & Rumours, Transfers, Barcelona, Joan Laporta, Frenkie De Jong, Erik Ten Hag, Xavi, Football, Premier League
