Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag wants to sign Frenkie de Jong as a priority

Erik ten Hag wants Manchester United to sort out the Frenkie de Jong transfer as a matter of urgency because he regards the Dutch midfielder as the key player in the style revolution he intends to bring to Old Trafford.

The new United manager does not want the club spending transfer money on less important targets — even on out-of-contract players such as Christian Eriksen — as he wants the bulk of transfer budget directed at De Jong.

Once De Jong is signed from Barcelona, he will then decide which players he needs with the remainder of the budget. It points to a fresh United bid this week, with Barcelona demanding £69million, with United offering £56m.

United had hoped Barca would be desperate to sell because of their perilous financial state and mounting debts of close to £1bn. The Catalan club have to submit accounts to La Liga by the end of June, which will determine their spending limits next season, meaning a quick transfer seemed to be to their advantage as it would help to balance the books.

However, Barca members last week approved a £600m fundraising deal, mortgaging a percentage of future TV rights and merchandising rights to cover the majority of the debt.

Barca feel that will strengthen their hand in holding out for the full fee, as they are now willing to bide their time. Despite their financial troubles, they also remain confident of signing Robert Lewandowski, who has one year left to run on his deal at Bayern Munich.

Ten Hag doesn’t want the club spending transfer money on less important targets at this stage

The Bundesliga champions are adamant he will have to see out his deal. They also hope to bid for Manchester City’s…