Barcelona and Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong has been linked with a meeting with Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag after playing under his Dutch counterpart at Ajax.
Manchester United are continuing to push to bring Frenkie de Jong to Old Trafford, but Barcelona are not believed to refuse when it comes to a transfer fee for the Netherlands international.
With Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic leaving United in the summer, strengthening the midfield will be necessary. Wolverhampton Wanderers star Ruben Neves has been heavily linked, but there is also a lot of talk surrounding De Jong's reunion with coach Erik ten Hag after the pair reached the Champions League semi-finals with Ajax in 2019.
De Jong moves to Camp Nou for €75m (£64m) after this European tie but could be allowed to leave Barcelona as Xavi aims to build a team to challenge for the La Liga title this season . However, according to the latest reports, Barca will not be moved by his transfer requests.
According to The Athletic, Barcelona do not want to let the 25-year-old leave at a loss. They are said to want €80m for a player who has been described as 'on the border' in United's summer plans.
United spent big last summer signing Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo for a total of around £120m. The same report asserts that their budgets in Ten Hag will be similar, wondering if they would be willing to pay more than half that for a single player.
One problem for United is the lack of fees for high earners. Pogba and Matic are both set to leave, while Edinson Cavani, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata are all out of contract this summer.
De Jong joined Ajax from Willem II as a teenager and was 19 years old when he made his first team debut for the Amsterdam club. However, under Ten Hag, he really just started.
The central midfielder made more than 50 appearances during the 2018-19 season, helping Ten Hag's youth team reach the Champions League final within a minute. He has impressed in knockout wins against Real Madrid and Juventus, as well as his most recent loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-final.
De Jong joined Barca while Ernesto Valverde was still in charge, and at Camp Nou during a managerial rotation with Quique Setien and Ronald Koeman also had spells in charge prior to the appointment of Xavi. He has played regularly under Koeman and Xavi this season, but Barca may have to get rid of one or more of their stars this summer as they pursue targets including Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski.
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