Manchester United chiefs John Murtough and Richard Arnold are both in Barcelona amid the club's continued interest in Frenkie De Jong.
The Dutchman is seemingly the No 1 summer target at Old Trafford with Erik ten Hag keen to reunite with a player whom he helped blossom at Ajax. New central midfielders are also on the wishlist on the red half of Manchester and they've spent much of the summer trying to get a deal for De Jong over the line.
The player himself has been reluctant to involve himself in any transfer talk and recently quashed any hopes United had of signing him, as per reports in Spain. Nevertheless United remain hopeful of signing De Jong, who was linked with the Camp Nou exit door as the Spanish club look to balance the books.
There is no confirmation that United's big wigs are in Barcelona to try and secure a deal for the Dutch star, who has also been linked with a move to Chelsea. Their new owner Todd Boehly has been seen in Barcelona amid reports they may try and hijack the deal.
United's CEO Arnold was secretly filmed recently discussing their move for De Jong and said: "Money is not a consideration on who we want. The manager wants him (De Jong) and they have actually done the work. He's a great player. Is it 100 or 200? I don't know. Get who you f***ing want."
Despite that Barcelona president Joan Laporta has insisted that De Jong will not be sold, stating: "[Frenkie De Jong] is a Barca player. And unless we feel the need or the interest to sell him we won't do it. Frenkie de Jong isn't for sale. We know he has offers. And if at a given moment we are interested in selling him then we would think about it. But right now we won't sell him. Even more, we are acquiring another Franck. Franck Kessie."
He added: “There are clubs that want him, not just United. We have no intention of selling him, he wants to stay. Frenkie is considered as one of the best midfielders in the world by all the experts. We are happy to have him. I’m going to do everything I can in my power so that Frenkie stays here, but there’s also a salary issue and that would have to be adjusted.”
United have seen Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic depart this summer, which leaves Ten Hag light of options in the middle of the park. Youri Tielemans and Ruben Neves are seen as alternatives should they be unable to get a move for De Jong over the line.
