Man Utd hope as PSG 'ABANDON attempts' for Barcelona star

Stuart Telford

• 21 Apr 2024 13:00 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United could have a clean run at one of their top transfer targets for next summer after Paris Saint-Germain pulled out of the race to sign the Barcelona asset.

United are in for a busy summer, with the Sir Jim Ratcliffe regime set to get into full swing for their first full transfer window.

Whether Erik ten Hag stays or goes as manager remains to be seen, but he has made it clear to the Old Trafford establishment from the start that he would like to bring Frenkie de Jong to the club from Barcelona.

READ MORE: Latest Man Utd transfer rumours

The pair won the Dutch domestic double together at Ajax in 2019, although De Jong joined Barca for €75 million in January of that season and has blossomed into one of the best midfielders in the world since.

Naturally, interest in him extends beyond Old Trafford, but PSG, one of the frontrunners for his signature, have pulled out.

No PSG move for De Jong

"Sources have confirmed to Diario Sport that PSG have abandoned any attempt to negotiate a potential transfer for the player at the end of this season," reports the aforementioned's Tomas Andreu.

"PSG, like Barca, are currently embroiled in a bid to clean up their accounts. The club is prioritising reducing the cost of the squad and balancing its budget to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations."

READ MORE: Barcelona’s 10 most expensive transfers of all time

De Jong, who is now valued at €48.5m by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, would still fetch a healthy fee - and a welcome one for Barca who remain €1.2 billion in debt.

United might not have it all their own way, however. Ten Hag's job as manager is anything but safe, and if he wasn't around De Jong might not be so keen to swap his "dream club" for the Lancashire rain.

Bayern Munich's recent reported interest could further complicate the situtation.