As reported by Fabrizio Romano, Manchester United’s attempt to sign Frenkie de Jong has halted. Due to the financial restrictions placed on Barcelona by La Liga, the club is not budging on anything less than £86m.
The former Ajax midfielder has been the No. 1 transfer target for United manager Erik ten Hag this summer, but the two parties have not been able to come to an agreement. The transfer cost for the Holland international should reflect Barca’s willingness to let De Jong go this summer.
Barca wants more than £80 million for De Jong, but it’s believed that United is only willing to pay an initial cost of about £60 million, plus an additional £5 million in add-ons.
Manchester United and Barcelona have been in direct contact today for Frenkie de Jong. Still no agreement on the fee, as Barça told Man Utd they won’t sell FdJ for less than €86m. 🚨🇳🇱 #MUFC
Barcelona want full fee guaranteed, also because of La Liga rules to reinvest money. pic.twitter.com/n6WBFk5Uxy
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 21, 2022
The Spanish juggernauts, however, are already suffering financially as a result of exceeding their pay cap. As a result, they are only able to reinvest one-third of the money they generate from player sales or wage savings in their team.
Barca is using that as an argument to raise the asking price for De Jong, who is currently uncertain about his future before the new season. United must sign at least five players this summer, and if they overpay for De Jong, those changes will be hampered.
Ten Hag has decided that a central midfielder is his top choice this summer after in-depth discussions with John Murtough. Wolves’ Ruben Neves is a possible choice along with free agent Christian Eriksen.
