Frenkie de Jong’s agent has told Barcelona there’s a club waiting to sign the player and that the La Liga giants must pay the money the midfielder is owed, according to reports. Manchester United are in pole position to land the Netherlands international. However, a move to Chelsea can’t be entirely ruled out either as the 25-year-old’s future remains up in the air.
Manchester United want to sign De Jong and, now, have spent over 80 days working to bring the Netherlands international to Old Trafford.
It’s been a prolonged saga and, though the Red Devils have agreed a fee with Barcelona, the midfielder is yet to jump ship.
According to De Telegraaf, De Jong’s agent Ali Dursun is working on an exit for his client – even though the 25-year-old’s preference is to stay at his current club.
And he’s told Barcelona that a ‘new club is ready’ for his player.
This likely refers to United, who are ready to pay an overall fee of £72million in order to bring De Jong to the Premier League.
Erik ten Hag previously managed his fellow Dutchman at Ajax, with the pair helping the Eredivisie side win the league title in 2019 – as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League that year.
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It’s stated he won’t even talk about a potential transfer at a time where Barcelona are spending money on the likes of Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski.
But the report does make clear that United wouldn’t be pushing to land the 25-year-old unless they’d been told he didn’t want to join.
For now, the saga looks set to roll on and on.
But if De Jong does join United, he’ll become the latest Dutch player to make the move to Old Trafford.
Jaap Stam was a huge hit upon moving in 1998, helping the club win the treble the following year under Sir Alex Ferguson.
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Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robin van Persie and Alexander Buttner all won the Premier League title at Old Trafford, while Edwin van der Sar won four of during his spell between the sticks.
And Daley Blind, Memphis Depay, Tim Fosu-Mensah, Tahith Chong and Donny van de Beek have all featured for the club in recent years, too.
Meanwhile, speaking recently, former Red Devils ace Luke Chadwick said his old side signing De Jong would ‘put a marker down’.
“Money shouldn’t be an issue, as Richard Arnold said in the video, so they need to pay what it takes because he’s a player they need,” he said.
“Even if it comes to €80-85million, that’s where the market is now.
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“Ten Hag needs to be able to get the players he wants. €85m is a large price, but at the same time it wasn’t so long ago that he was seen as one of the hottest prospects in European football.
“I think that’s the kind of market for players of that calibre now.
“De Jong is someone you can build around for a long time and it feels like he’s Ten Hag’s man.
“He was brilliant at Ajax and had that team built around him to a certain extent.
“I think it would put a marker down for United and show that they mean business.”
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