Barcelona put pressure on Frenkie de Jong to leave and join Manchester United: Reports

According to The Athletic, Barcelona have informed Frenkie de Jong that he must agree to join Manchester United this summer.

The Red Devils have recently agreed a €75 million overall fee for Frenkie de Jong, which included €10 million in add-ons. The midfielder is still reluctant to leave Barcelona due to multiple reasons. He is not intent on going to Old Trafford without the prospect of Champions League football and wants to stay at the Spanish club.

Manchester United sent a delegation to hold talks with Barcelona’s hierarchy that led to a breakthrough with respect to negotiations. However, the Spanish giants still owe De Jong €17 million in deferred payments, which is another reason why he is reluctant to leave.

Barcelona are understood to be in a delicate financial situation and cannot register their new signings without selling De Jong. This includes Leeds United winger Raphinha, while negotiations for other targets are also said to be dependent on the sale to United.

While the deal appears to have stalled for the time being, Barcelona’s insistence might end up resulting in De Jong agreeing to the move.

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Should Manchester United look at Frenkie De Jong alternatives?

While some sources (The Independent) state that Frenkie de Jong still wants to leave Barcelona, he is reluctant because the Spanish club owe him a large amount of money. Erik ten Hag covets the player who played under him at Ajax and was part of their fairytale 2018-19 Champions League run where they reached the semi-finals.

The Dutch coach believes he will be an integral part of the team that he is building at United. The fact that the Red Devils are fighting for the Dutchman’s signature to such an extent also suggests that they know the player wants to join the club.

Barcelona’s financial situation does not look like it will be resolved anytime soon. The club owes large amounts of money to their players and other clubs as well, and are understood to be in a crushing €1 billion debt (as per The Sportsman). In such a scenario, Barcelona have continued to be linked with players. They have just agreed to a deal in the region of €54 million, including add-ons, with Leeds United for Raphinha.

The player reportedly cannot be registered until the De Jong sale happens. With further deals, including one for Lewandowski in the pipeline, it seems a distinct possibility that the club simply cannot make the payment to De Jong in this transfer window.

Considering the overall situation, it might best serve Manchester United to start looking at alternatives. The two who have been mentioned recently include Ruben Neves and Youri Tielemans. Both players are defensively solid, extremely tenacious, have good-passing skills and can also chip in with goals. They could both be a brilliant fit for this Manchester United team.