Rijo Sam Daniel
Manchester United dealt a transfer blow as Barcelona are no longer desperate to sell Frenkie de Jong
According to Fernando Polo of Mundo Deportivo via UtdPlug on Twitter (h/t Manchester Evening News), Manchester United have been dealt a damning blow in their pursuit of Frenkie de Jong as Barcelona are no longer desperate to sell him this summer. This news would add to the frustrations of the former’s fans due to the lack of signings compared to their direct rivals.
Erik ten Hag has already identified de Jong as his primary target, with priority being given to improving the midfield options ahead of the next season. Barca were going through a financially stricken situation which paved the way for the midfielder’s potential exit to raise some funds to sign their targets like Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski.
However, it is now claimed that de Jong’s sale is not considered a necessity anymore by the Catalans. That being said, Man United are handed a sigh of relief as Xavi Hernandez is a fan of Manchester City superstar Bernando Silva and would love him at Camp Nou instead of de Jong.
Man Utd in for a rough ride?
Perhaps, this change in stance from the Blaugrana side is down to the fact that their members have recently approved selling a part of their assets, according to Barcelona’s official website. It is stated that facilitating these financial levers would bring in around £600million, which will offset their difficulties in maintaining the books of accounts.
If that is the case, then it remains to be seen how the Manchester management will react in the coming days. After all, they can no longer hold Xavi’s side to ransom by taking advantage of their financial crisis since the sale of assets has now been approved.
The La Liga giants have slapped an asking price of £80million for de Jong’s services which the Red Devils are unwilling to meet as of now. However, the former’s stance has now grown even stronger following this latest development putting us into a difficult position in the process.
As such, it would be wise on our part not to waste any more time and search for alternatives at this point. After all, meeting the Spanish club’s demands would deal a serious dent to our transfer budget, which is stated to be in the region of £120million before sales, according to The Independent.
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Hence, it would be in our best interest to look elsewhere rather than pursue a near-lost cause at this point. The Red Devils have also been linked with the likes of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Ruben Neves and Vitinha of Porto, so it is not like they do not have any other options on the shortlist.
Even if Barca are open to selling de Jong to help in their pursuit of Silva, they have been handed more leeway to remain stubborn on their price tag. Let’s hope that the Mancunian hierarchy would realise this and turn their attention to alternative targets soon.
