Manchester United refuse to give up on signing Frenkie de Jong despite claims that the Barcelona midfielder has told the club he does not want to join them.
After weeks of negotiations, the Red Devils finally struck a deal with Barca on Wednesday, agreeing to pay £63 million upfront, alongside a further £10 million in extras and bonuses.
However, the deal remains on the cutting edge with widespread reports in Spain claiming that De Jong has no intention of trading Catalonia’s sunshine for Manchester.
On Thursday, the Sport newspaper claimed that De Jong’s agent, Ali Dursun, had met with United’s CEO Richard Arnold and football director John Murtough. told them they were ‘wasting their time’.
The 25-year-old and his girlfriend are happy and settled in Barcelona, where they recently bought a house in the Pedralbes district.
Another article claimed that De Jong had even told his teammates that it was ‘impossible’ for him to enter Camp Nou. to leaveespecially without Champions League football at Old Trafford.
But now The sun report that United bosses are ignoring the rumors and speculation in the Spanish press and are fully convinced that De Jong is open to joining the Red Devils.
The club would not pursue the deal if there were any doubts about his commitment to making the switch and he was polled before starting final negotiations with Barca.
De Jong has also had several talks with new United boss Erik ten Hag, who was his manager at Ajax.
Instead, United have abandoned Barcelona and an issue of unpaid wages, with De Jong agreeing to a temporary pay cut during the pandemic, on the understanding that he would be paid back later.
Previous reports suggested De Jong was behind £17million, but The Sun claims the figure is closer to £24million.
Barcelona want United to pay – otherwise the sale of De Jong will do little to alleviate their financial fair play problems – but Old Trafford heads have turned down their demands and are refusing.
Nevertheless, United have no intention of relinquishing the deal and are determined to win the transfer, while Arnold and Murtough are still trying to solve an incredibly delicate problem.
Better news for United: the club confirmed the signing of free agent Christian Eriksen on Friday and hopes to announce a deal for Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez over the weekend.
LAKE : Lisandro Martinez will board a private jet to Manchester before signing a £120,000-a-week deal
LAKE : Frenkie de Jong’s agent encourages Chelsea offer after Manchester United’s agreement with Barcelona
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