The saga to sign Frenkie de Jong this summer has become just as stagnant as any other transfer saga for Manchester United. For weeks now, nothing has been gained from the talks with Barcelona and there are no signs, yet, that United will pay what is required to sign the Dutchman.
Journalist Fabrizio Romano spoke to the Qué Golazo Podcast confirming that nothing has been agreed as yet and that Barcelona require a guaranteed €85 million (£73 million) to let the player leave the Camp Nou this summer.
It would seem that the Catalan club have their price and consistent to the reports in the last few weeks, they are seemingly sticking to it leading to the frustration felt by United supporters all over the world which also confirms that nothing has changed at United.
It was stated by Romano that De Jong, 25 is ‘being respectful‘ for Barcelona to reach an agreement with United, or not. It was also said that Erik ten Hag was pushing for the deal and the player knew the current situation and that United want to make this ‘statement signing‘.
United have other targets if they do not managed to complete the deal to sign De Jong but Romano said that at this stage, it was not something that United were prepared to speak about, which would, in my opinion, admit defeat therefore lead to yet more negativity in not signing the 25-year-old.
The thing with United is that their transfer business always seems to do the same things each and every time, not matter the player or the club. We are led to believe that, at least at boardroom level, the executives have changed but the same problems surface – penny pinching being one of them.
It does not seem to be all doom and gloom at the moment though as Journalist Jacque Talbot has stated that United and Barcelona have ‘not reached an impasse‘ one the deal to sign De Jong and ‘progress is being made behind the scenes‘.
At the moment, this looks to be one of those sagas that could very easily end in disappointment. Ten Hag seems to have convinced the player, which has been mentioned in previous reports but the likes of Richard Arnold and John Murtough need to start getting things done.
Right now though, Ten Hag and De Jong are both on holiday in Ibiza and Las Vegas. Granted, if United reach an agreement with Barcelona, an announcement could be made and medicals could take place in the USA ahead of completion of the move. I guess we shall wait and see, again.
Written by John Walker
