Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Manchester United target Frenkie De Jong is not open to a loan move and insists the saga is not over between Barcelona and the Red Devils.
Despite bringing in Christian Eriksen in recent weeks, the big midfield target for United so far this summer has been Dutchman De Jong, but so far this window, they have struggled to get a deal over the line as the midfielder would prefer to stay in Catalonia.
De Jong’s position seems to still be on this track, as in a recent update from Romano, Barcelona are ready to let the player go out on loan despite having a transfer fee agreed with United already – but De Jong is still not in agreement.
Romano said on his YouTube channel: “Manchester United and Barcelona have an agreement on a permanent deal – €75m plus €10m in add-ons – but no agreement on player’s side; Frenkie wants to stay in Barcelona.
“And today [Thursday] we have a rumour coming from Spain about Barcelona ready to let Frenkie de Jong leave on loan in case they can’t find a way to accept the current situation with the player.
“But guys, the answer I’m getting on the player’s side again, after he said many times, ‘no’ to any transfer this summer and ‘no’ to a salary cut. Let me say again, Frenkie is not accepting, as of today, any salary cut. Also, this loan story for Frenkie de Jong, this loan possibility, is something that the player is absolutely not considering as of now.
“We will see during the summer, we know that the market in these crazy sagas, everything can happen – we saw with [Jules] Kounde, he was close to Chelsea, Barcelona changed the situation. So many things can change.
“But as of now, Frenkie has no intention to leave Barcelona – so they [United] will need to change their mind if they really want Frenkie De Jong – no intention to accept a salary cut and no intention to leave on loan. It’s something the player is not considering as of now.”
TIF Thoughts on Romano’s comments…
If United do in fact fail to get the De Jong deal across the line it could end up being an embarrassing transfer window for the Premier League giants, and with the reports from Romano, it is looking likely at this stage.
It is confusing as to why De Jong is so adamant about staying in Spain considering the club are now so desperate to get rid of him that they’re willing to just loan him out instead of pursuing the huge transfer deal United have offered.
As Romano says, everything and anything could happen in this saga and this exciting window, and it looks like this particular saga will go on until the end of the window. United are separate to sign De Jong, Barcelona are desperate to sell him, and De Jong is desperate to stay. It is not going to be easy.
Will De Jong sign for United?Yes
No
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