Manchester United are ‘very close’ to completing the signing of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, according to reports in Spain.
De Jong has been in Catalonia since joining from Ajax for around £65million in 2019.
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He has made 138 appearances for the Blaugrana and a Copa Del Rey title in 2020/21 is the only piece of silverware he has won with the club.
The 25-year-old enjoyed success at Ajax with Erik ten Hag, who has recently taken over as Manchester United manager.
Ten Hag is very keen on bringing De Jong to Old Trafford this summer and has identified the player as his number one target.
All of the club’s eggs appear to be in one basket, however, which has hindered their transfer business as a whole with a number of new recruits needed after a poor campaign.
United have made one bid for the Dutch international midfielder but saw it turned down by Barcelona, who are strapped for cash and need to sell the player in order to fund much of their summer business.
There have only been 2 Barcelona midfielders in the last 8 seasons with 𝟒𝟎+ 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 in a La Liga season 🗝️
Xavi 👉 14/15
Frenkie De Jong 👉 20/21 | 21/22𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀.#mufc pic.twitter.com/3EosIz80js
— Man United News (@ManUtdMEN) June 25, 2022
A fresh offer is believed to be ‘imminent’ as the Red Devils look to secure their first signing of the transfer window.
And according to Sport, the two clubs are ‘very close’ agreeing a deal that will see De Jong move to the Premier League.
The final figure will be around €80m fixed, which is what Barca will be happy with to let go of one of their starting players.
With negotiations between the clubs nearly at its conclusion, United must now convince De Jong to come. However, there is ‘optimism’ that everything should be finalised ‘before June 30’.
Elsewhere, Tottenham are in ‘advanced negotiations’ with Barcelona over a loan deal for Clement Lenglet, according to ESPN.
It is said that the clubs are in ‘advanced negotiations’ over a loan deal, although the Catalan club would ‘prefer’ to let their player leave permanently.
Spurs boss Antonio Conte ‘wants to convince the defender to accept the proposal’ and the head coach will discuss the move with Lenglet ‘as early as next week’.
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