Fabrizio Romano: Manchester United in direct contact with Barcelona over Frenkie de Jong transfer
According to the transfer guru Fabrizio Romano on Twitter, Manchester United have made direct contact with Barcelona to sign Frenkie de Jong on a potential transfer this summer. He has been linked with a move to Old Trafford for quite some time now, and it seems that the English club are pressing ahead with their plans.
De Jong recently admitted that he has no intentions to leave Camp Nou as Barca have always been his dream club. However, it looks like Man United are not deterred by his admission as they continue to target him ahead of the next season. They have started negotiations with the Spanish side regarding a move as of now.
The Dutch international is also unconvinced by the prospect of joining the Red Devils due to the lack of Champions League football. Despite that, they are ramping up the efforts to facilitate a transfer, with the Catalans needing to raise money to balance their books of accounts. De Jong’s current stance appears to be the major roadblock as he is not entertaining an exit at this moment.
Can Man Utd succeed in their attempt?
It remains to be seen if the Manchester side can change the 25-year-old’s stance moving forward, as, without his approval, a transfer cannot be finalised even after reaching an agreement with the La Liga giants. Erik ten Hag remains our only bet as he could potentially reunite with his former star should de Jong accept our proposal.
De Jong is currently valued at around €85million, with the Spanish club waiting for an opening offer from the Mancunians. Romano, in a different tweet, has revealed that ten Hag has already given his approval to the board to push once again in their attempt to convince the midfielder of a move.
However, Xavi Hernandez is keen to keep hold of de Jong, which could be a problem for our pursuit. Fortunately, it is stated that Xavi would be powerless as the final decision rests with his board, although the player’s stance would remain to be the major issue in our pathway.
It is expected that other interested parties would also prove to be obstacles for us, with some of them being able to offer CL football, unlike us at this moment. Finally, Barca are also in line to receive a massive financial boost of £630million, which would certainly help with their finances, giving them leeway to keep hold of de Jong moving forward.
More Manchester United News
- Manchester United expect new manager Erik ten Hag to aid Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho in rediscovering best form
- Newcastle United are preparing a bid for Manchester United target and Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin
- Manchester United dealt transfer blow as Frenkie de Jong conveys his intent to stay at Barcelona
All in all, many issues need to be overcome before we can finalise a move for De Jong this summer. As such, it would be best if ten Hag’s side would also prepare a shortlist comprising of suitable alternatives rather than pursuing one single target.
The likes of James Ward-Prowse, Corentin Tolisso, Christian Eriksen, and Fabian Ruiz are some of the names who have been linked with us recently, with academy stars like James Garner also being in line to get into the senior team. So we have options to work with for now but whether de Jong will be the one or not remains to be seen.
