Manchester United are thought to be at long last nearing an agreement with Barcelona for the move of Netherlands international Frenkie de Jong.
The Red Devils interest in De Jong has dominated much of the opening exchanges of the window this summer, with plenty of twist and turns as Barcelona play hard-ball in their stance. The Catalan giants are in a particularly perilous position financially, but for a long time refused to budge on their valuation of their midfielder.
However, after weeks of pressure and negotiation from United the La Liga titans may have finally reached an agreement over a fee that they deem enough to sanction De Jong's departure to Old Trafford. The reported figure is £67m with add-ons, a number United fans will be incredibly happy with all things considered.
The negotiations are strikingly similar to United's pursuit of Jadon Sancho last summer while the England international was still a Borussia Dortmund player. Conversations between United and the Bundesliga outfit went on for so long they actually spanned across multiple windows.
At one stage, Dortmund were holding out for a figure north of £100m before they would even consider letting Sancho return to Manchester just years after signing him themselves from United's local rivals City. Patient as ever, the Red Devils hierarchy took their time and eventually drove the transfer fee down significantly from that treble-digit request.
By the time Sancho had been finally unveiled as a United player just after Euro 2020, United paid £73m for the talented right-winger. While the jury is still out on whether he has actually come close to justifying that amount after an underwhelming debut campaign, the ability to get the price down that much from the board's perspective should be commended.
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They are on the cusp of repeating that feat with De Jong - who was expected to cost around £89m originally in what is a similar amount to Paul Pogba six years ago. United fans have truly had their patience tested with the relentless 'will he/won't he' sign saga surrounding the ex-Ajax man.
United's director John Murtough is worthy of credit for his commitment to not going what the club view as overpriced and bartering Barcelona down to a more reasonable fee.
After weeks of negotiating everyone behind the deal looks likely to be rewarded for their efforts in the way their eventually were with Sancho. De Jong will hope he can hit the ground running slightly better than his potential new teammate.
