Manchester United are ready to play the long game in their £72 million pursuit of Frenkie de Jong even if they haven’t struck a deal for the Barcelona midfielder by the time the new Premier League season starts.
Barcelona and United have reached a formal deal for De Jong with the Catalan giants over an initial fee of £63.6m with a further £8.5m in add-ons.
United agreed to increase the guaranteed amount by a further £8.4m and reduce add-ons and it remains to be seen whether Barcelona will now use that higher prepayment to cover the cost of the £17 million they owe De Jong in deferred wages.
De Jong’s preference is to stay at the Camp Nou, but the player is coming under increasing pressure to accept a transfer.
Barcelona are considering leaving De Jong at home when they fly to Miami this weekend for the start of their pre-season tour.
A deal cannot be finalized until the wage issue is resolved, but Barcelona need De Jong off their books to get the green light from La Liga to register their new signings, Raphinha, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie.
United hope the situation will be resolved as soon as possible, but they are willing to sit.
If the current salary stalemate between De Jong and Barcelona proves insurmountable, United will likely have to pursue other goals, but manager Erik ten Hag – who sees his former Ajax player as an integral part of his plans – believes the current wait will be worth it.
Sources at Old Trafford say they wouldn’t have gotten this far had they not believed De Jong was willing to join them, despite claims in Spain that the player is not interested in a transfer.