Manchester United’s pursuit of Frenkie de Jong is seemingly the transfer saga that will never end.
United aren’t backing down, despite their efforts falling flat thus far. Reservations over their fall-back options mean Erik ten Hag’s preference remains the first choice at Old Trafford, no matter how long it takes.
United have seemingly been in a position to finally get a deal over the line at various points over the past few months, not least when they agreed a fee with Barcelona. They’ve been met by public statements from the Nou Camp denying the midfielder is up for sale, despite evidence to the contrary.
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Barca’s reluctance to let go of De Jong defies their current financial standing. The Catalan club have run up debts of £1billion, and yet have continued to sign players throughout the summer, including Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde.
Due to La Liga’s strict salary cap rules, Barcelona are currently unable to register any of their new signings to play in domestic fixtures, increasing the need for them to offload De Jong. The situation is further complicated by the Netherlands international being owed €17m in deferred wages.
United sources have insisted that has been the fundamental issue preventing them from completing a transfer. But they may now have been given a helping hand in their pursuit following Barcelona’s latest attempt to generate some cash.
The La Liga giants have announced the sale of 24.5 per cent of their Barca Studios to Socios.com in a deal worth €100m. The sale is described by the club as an attempt to “accelerate the club’s audiovisual, blockchain, NFT and Web.3 strategy”, but it could also have a knock-on effect on United’s pursuit of De Jong.
Barcelona now conceivably have some of the funds necessary in order to pay off De Jong's owed wages, or at least move closer to a position where they can settle something with the midfielder. It’s in their best interest to move the 25-year-old on and get some of their new signings registered for the new season.
De Jong may well remain reluctant to join United, as has been suggested by multiple sources in Spain, but Barcelona’s attachment to the midfielder may well be deteriorating as they secure funds via other avenues. It may be another step in the right direction for United, but if this summer has proven anything, it’s not to assume that De Jong is a done deal.
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