According to reports, Manchester United will present a second bid for Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong. And the giants of the League are aware that they cannot get the huge rate that has been reported in the Spanish press. Erik ten Hag is determined to get a meeting with his Dutch compatriot, having previously led the midfielder to Ajax.
According to the Manchester Evening News, United will soon present a formal offer in Barcelona as it plans to bring De Jong to Old Trafford this summer.
Recently, they made an initial offer of £ 51.64 million and add-ons for the midfielder, with Ten Hag wanting the club to land the Dutch international as he seeks to build a dynasty at his new club.
It is said that Barcelona “granted in private” that it cannot obtain the share of 90 million pounds that has been raised in the Spanish press, despite its desire to sell the 25-year-old to balance his finances.
They previously spent £ 65m on the player in the 2019 summer transfer window, after impressing Ajax amid their promotion to the Champions League semi-finals.
Barcelona are willing to sell De Jong and want £ 64.55 million guaranteed for their midfield master, as well as accessories to make sure they receive more than they originally paid for him.
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United, meanwhile, do have alternatives to their wish list.
Some of them will be cheaper, but the red devils are said to have spent most of June working to negotiate a deal for the player.
Sources say United are “negotiating hard” as they seek to reach such an agreement as soon as possible so they can move on to other goals.
Behind the scenes, the Red Devils believe they would have ruined their hopes of strengthening other areas of the squad if they had met Barcelona’s initial demands.
It is said that Christian Eriksen, Antony, a center and a secondary goalkeeper are all signings Ten Hag would like to make in his first summer at the helm.
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United first approached Barcelona on May 11, the same night Ten Hag led Ajax to the glory of the title.
John Murtough went out to meet the 52-year-old the next day, and the duo had additional recruitment meetings.
Ten Hag has contacted De Jong to alleviate any concerns about playing for the Red Devils, who have not won a trophy since 2017, when Jose Mourinho was coach.
Barcelona had high hopes when it initially added the Dutch international to its squad.
But De Jong has often fought for consistency, blowing hot and cold with Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setien, Ronald Koeman and Xavi during his time in Catalonia.
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For his part, United Supreme Court Richard Arnold was asked about Ten Hag over the weekend.
The head of the Red Devils sat down with a group of supporters who had planned to protest in front of his house.
And Arnold said: “As a club we are doing our best to reach an agreement.
“I’ve been trying to do this for days. The money is there, but there are things that stand in our way that I can’t say.”
And he also said, “It’s just that the coach wants him, they’ve done the job of finding out if he’s a great player.”