Journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Barcelona have rejected an offer for Frenkie de Jong from Manchester United.
There have been recent reports stating that United are closing in on bringing Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong to the Premier League, with Erik ten Hag keen to link up again with the Dutch midfielder after their successful time together at Ajax.
De Jong signed for Barcelona in 2019 and he has been a mainstay in the side since, making 140 appearances in all competitions for the Spanish giants, whilst scoring 13 goals and assisting 17 times.
With the reports suggesting United are edging closer to signing De Jong, Romano has claimed on his YouTube channel that Barcelona have rejected an opening proposal for the Dutch midfielder due to the asking price not being met.
“From what I am told, Barcelona have rejected this opening proposal, they have turned down this opening proposal, they want €85m (£72.6m) fee, maybe the negotiation could become different in the coming days.
“But Manchester United made an opening bid for Frenkie de Jong – €60m (£51m) plus €10m (£8.5m) add-ons. But at the moment, Barcelona have turned down this opening proposal,” Romano said.
Do you think De Jong will sign for United?Yes
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TIF Thoughts on Romano’s comments…
Manchester United had a disappointing Premier League season last term, they finished 6th in the table and were 13 points away from qualifying for the Champions League. So, Ten Hag will likely be keen to bring in some new faces over the summer to ensure that they have a more successful campaign next season.
De Jong is someone who the Dutch manager knows well from their time at Ajax together, so the fact that United are so keen to sign him is a clear indication that Ten Hag trusts him and knows that he can improve the team.
However, Barcelona are seemingly not budging on their asking price, so if United want to acquire De Jong in the summer, then they will have to pay a significant fee, which could take a large chunk out of their transfer budget.
And given there big improvements needed at Old Trafford, we think the Red Devils should be acting to bring in their main targets quickly so they have a full pre-season with the new manager.