Frenkie de Jong's move to Manchester United is in doubt, with a number of potential obstacles in the way of a deal for the Dutch international.
United agreed an initial fee of £56million for the midfielder in June, but progress has since stalled. Chelsea also remain in the hunt for the 25-year-old, who played under United boss Erik ten Hag at Ajax, but De Jong could also end up staying at current club Barcelona.
Plenty of time remains for a deal to be completed, with Premier League clubs able to add to their squads until September 1. However, with a number of issues at play, United will need to clear multiple hurdles if they want to secure a deal for one of their manager's top targets.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has insisted De Jong is not for sale, though United are understood to be taking those comments with a pinch of salt. Still, there remains some doubt over the deal.
ESPN reports that one of the outstanding issues concerns money owed to De Jong by Barcelona. The midfielder is one of a number of players who agreed pay cuts to help the club recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The same report makes reference to "performance-based add-ons," which are yet to be agreed with United. Meanwhile, Ronald Koeman, De Jong's former manager at Camp Nou, has claimed his compatriot still wants to stay with the Catalan club.
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While De Jong's future hangs in the balance, United continue to be linked with Lisandro Martinez. The Argentine has regularly been used in defence by Ajax, but previous comments from Ten Hag suggest the manager can see him playing further forward.
"At the beginning of the (2019-20) season, we were looking for a brain for central midfield," Ten Hag said upon bringing Martinez to Ajax. "We knew Martinez had played there but could he do it in Ajax’s system? We tried him there and we saw good things.”
Martinez, like De Jong, would not come cheap. A figure of £43m has been mooted for a player who is also on Arsenal's watchlist after 120 appearances in three seasons under Ten Hag at Ajax.
Still, with United's squad and staff already arriving in Thailand for their pre-season tour, it looks likely that either player would have some catching up to do upon joining their new teammates if they do indeed move to Old Trafford. After a match against Liverpool in Bangkok on July 12, United will continue their pre-season preparations with a trio of games in Australia before returning to Europe.
