Manchester United and Chelsea have been handed a transfer deadline by Barcelona over their attempts to sign midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
On Wednesday, Barca held talks with De Jong’s representatives and informed them that club wanted to either sell the player or drastically reduce his salary ahead of La Liga starting in 10 days time. It comes after United boss Erik ten Hag instructed United to remain patient on a deal after holding fresh talks with the player.
The Red Devils have made a breakthrough in their attempts to sign the Dutch international after the club did not give up hope on a deal despite negotiations now entering their 13th week. United CEO Richard Arnold and football director John Murtough visited the Catalan capital last month to finalise terms over a transfer with Barca.
The two clubs have already agreed an initial fee of £56.2million is in place with a total transfer increasing up to £72million although no final agreement is yet in place with the player due to an outstanding amount in the region of €17million in back payments owed to De Jong by the Catalan club.
That is now the main sticking point in the negotiations with De Jong keen to resolve the remaining monies owed to him before a transfer is concluded. The ball is firmly in the court of Barcelona, as they are unable to register any of their five summer signings or Ousmane Dembele – who has renewed his contract – for La Liga until sales are processed.
As outlined by Diario Sport, this was the main topic of discussion as the player’s representatives Ali Dursun and Hasan Centikaya met with Barca chiefs on Wednesday. They also discussed the future of their other client at the Camp Nou, Martin Braithwaite, who the club are keen to allow to leave as a free agent – also to free up their wage bill.
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Separately, the same Catalan media outlet have reiterated that Barcelona must move on several first-team squad players – including De Jong – ahead of La Liga getting underway in ten days time, as they must reduce their outgoings before being given the green light by the league to register new players.
De Jong is one of the highest earners at Barcelona and he is additionally owed a series of payments through amortizations and other clauses that are part of his deal. The problem for the club is that they are currently unable to process such payments, which has complicated the player’s future. Resolving this issue has been central to recent meetings.
Ten Hag has informed United to continue waiting for the situation to resolve itself, as the player wants the monies that are owed to him and there is a belief that this stumbling block will soon be cleared due to Barca’s requirement for removing the player from their wage bill.
Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde have all joined Barca’s ranks this summer, but none will be available for selection until La Liga inform them that their contracts are viable with the club’s financial situation.
But, for United, the situation is further complicated by Chelsea's growing interest in De Jong - and a belief that the Dutchman would prefer to move to west London.
Blues chiefs have made contact with Barcelona and held discussions with de Jong’s representatives and are now strong contenders to sign him from under United’s noses.
