Barcelona have agreed a deal in principle to sell Frenkie de Jong to Manchester United and they are now looking across the city to identify his replacement in Xavi's team
Barcelona have already identified their 'dream' replacement for Frenkie de Jong after reaching an agreement over the terms of the Dutchman's transfer with Manchester United.
A United delegation led by CEO Richard Arnold and football director John Murtough jetted to the Catalan capital to thrash out the full terms of a deal for the Dutch ace after an initial transfer fee had been agreed between the clubs for £56.2million.
One striking aspect of the deal is how Barca president Joan Laporta has openly insisted that the player is not for sale despite negotiating the transfer with United over several weeks. The Blaugrana have throughout the summer privately been open to De Jong's exit and it is now reported that they have identified his ideal replacement.
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It is claimed by Mundo Deportivo that Manchester City star Bernardo Silva is at the top of Barca's wanted list of replacements for De Jong. They are aware of the difficulties of such a deal with City's financial resources, but he is the number one option among Barca chiefs for replacing De Jong.