Manchester United have agreed an initial fee of £56million with Barcelona for their midfielder Frenkie De Jong.
United have made the breakthrough in their long-running pursuit of Dutch midfielder De Jong, who is set to become the first signing of the Erik ten Hag era. Sources have indicated United will pay £56m up front for the 25-year-old Holland international, with performance-related add-ons potentially taking the total cost of the deal to £70m.
Personal terms are understood to be a formality with De Jong, who will earn around £250,000-a-week with his move to United, on what is expected to be a five-year deal. Those add-ons have yet to be finalised by the two clubs, but the fact an initial fee has been agreed suggests the deal is likely to be concluded in the coming days.
There is increasing confidence at United that a deal will now be done, with the hope De Jong could be involved in the club's upcoming tour of Thailand and Australia. United fly to Bangkok a week on Friday to face Liverpool in the first leg of the tour, which also takes in pre-season friendlies in Melbourne and Perth.
Having lost two central midfielders in Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic this summer, United were under pressure to strengthen in that area of the pitch. Ten Hag worked with De Jong at Ajax and made the midfielder his No.1 transfer target when he accepted the United job.
Barcelona, who paid Ajax £70m for De Jong in 2019, had no choice but to sell him to address their serious financial issues and strengthen their own squad. Once the deal for De Jong is completed, United will turn their attention to signing a versatile forward who can play in a number of positions across the front line.
Ajax's Brazilian winger Antony is one of United's targets, but the Dutch club's £70m valuation of the 22-year-old means any deal is currently unlikely. United feel a fee of around £40m is a more realistic reflection of Antony's market value, but Ajax are under no pressure and will only do so on their terms.
Free agent Christian Eriksen is another midfield option, but the Denmark international also has an offer from Brentford, where he spent the second half of last season.
