Manchester United chief executive office Richard Arnold is reportedly hoping that Frenkie de Jong will headline the clubs summer transfer window according to a report from Jamie Jackson of The Guardian. United have been pursuing the 25-year-old for a number of weeks now.
Last week it was suggested that Barcelona has a price of €85 million and they seem to have been sticking to that but given their financial constraints and the fact that they want to sign new players this summer, the club will have to sell in order to buy and De Jong seems to be just one of those.
It was stated by Jackson in his report that United saw a bid of €60 million plus bonuses turned down by the Catalan club with the Old Trafford club hoping that going €10 million more could eventually seal the deal. It is stated that new manager Erik ten Hag wants his compatriot as soon as possible.
United will be returning to preseason training just a week from today, not for all of the squad as the ones who played for their international teams have only just gone on holiday, needing time to relax and recharge their batteries after a long season.
But United will be embarking on their preseason tour, starting in Thailand where they will face Liverpool in Bangkok on the 12 July. Ten Hag reportedly wants De Jone before the 8 July so he can fly out for the club preseason tour ahead of the new season.
United will also face Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace in Melbourne on the 15 and 19 July respectfully before facing Aston Villa in Perth on the 23 July. United will then face Atlético Madrid in Oslo on the 30 July before ending preseason at Old Trafford against Rayo Vallecano a day later.
If United fail to sign De Jong before preseason, the plan is to get his signed before the opening Premier League match of the season with Brighton and Hove Albion travelling to Old Trafford on the 7 August – which would be nightmare if the transfer took that long.
United have not been great in the transfer window for the last nine summer transfer windows, this being the tenth post-Sir Alex Ferguson and despite more than £1 billion being spent by the club, it really is hard to see what it has been spent on looking at the current squad.
Ten Hag will be looking to fortify a number of positions this summer with the midfield, the wide positions and the defence all needing some attention. United have been linked to almost 100 players by the media this summer and more will be linked in the coming weeks.
Written by John Walker
