Frenkie de Jong to Man Utd: How advanced are transfer negotiations?
Robin Bairner
- 4 Jul 2022 07:39 BST
- 3 min read
Frenkie de Jong’s transfer to Manchester United from Barcelona continues to bubble away, with progress slow.
This mirrors Man Utd’s work in the summer transfer market so far in 2022, with the Old Trafford club yet to make a signing, despite good progress finally being made on the addition of Tyrell Malacia from PSV.
De Jong, though, appears to be the player that manager Erik ten Hag really wants, but just how close is the Barcelona midfielder to signing for the club?
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De Jong to Man Utd: Is a deal close?
Sport reported on Sunday that De Jong has been handed a transfer ultimatum by Barcelona: he has been told either to reduce his salary or leave the club. Barca have gone down this route because of their acute financial problems, and even if money has been made selling off long-term assets. However, this has not solved the problem of their over-extended wage bill. To sign players, they first need to address this issue.
Selling De Jong could be a first step in solving this problem but a quick resolution to the Manchester United transfer saga looks unlikely.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the deal is not far progressed. Man Utd and Barcelona have agreed a fee of €65 million, and though a further €20m in bonuses are likely, the exact structure of these payments is as yet unclear.
Furthermore, Romano also reports that there have not been talks over personal terms between De Jong and Man Utd. As has been made abundantly clear throughout the transfer window, the Netherlands international star would prefer to stay with Barcelona, although it is stated that he is not about to bow to their demands of taking a salary cut.
De Jong’s potential move to Man Utd continues to take small steps towards a resolution, but these are painfully slow given the Red Devils have been back in pre-season training for a week, with little over a week until they play Liverpool in their opening friendly.
