Manchester United are convinced that Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong will join them this summer once the Spanish club settle his deferred wages, Sport report (page 8).
The Red Devils have already agreed an initial fee worth £63 million to sign the Netherlands star from Barcelona, but the 25-year-old has yet to accept personal terms for the transfer to materialise.
It has been recently reported that he does not want to join the club due to the lack of Champions League football while he is also not seduced by the prospect of living in the city of Manchester.
However, United have not given up on the player just yet. Sport claim that United know that they are favourites to sign the midfielder, who is open to leaving Barcelona if his deferred wages are paid.
The same outlet adds that manager Erik ten Hag has already spoken with De Jong and is aware of the situation. The Dutch tactician has urged United to wait until De Jong resolves his ongoing concern.
Chelsea have also been linked with the player, but are yet to make a formal transfer offer.
Our view:
United have been aiming to sign De Jong for several months. They have made the breakthrough over the fee with the Blaugrana, but are yet to receive the green light from the player over personal terms.
Despite this, Ten Hag has urged the club to continue the pursuit, and they seem optimistic of prising him away. They have one key advantage in the fact that there are no formal offers from elsewhere.
Chelsea have been constantly mentioned as a suitor by Sport, but the west London giants have yet to enter the pursuit. The Blues may need to offload a couple of midfielders first before making an approach.
Hence, United are still the front-runners to sign the ball-playing midfielder, and it remains to be seen whether their patience over the past few months eventually leads to them landing his signature.
De Jong would be an instant upgrade from the number six role for United. He is not a tough tackler, but has good awareness in front of the defence and tends to win plenty of duels with clever positioning.
He can also dribble his way from the back to create chances for his forwards. His strong distribution and ball control are key attributes that should perfectly suit Ten Hag, who focuses on more ground work.
Ten Hag got the best out of De Jong from the number six role when they were together at Ajax. At Barcelona, he has not lived up to the high expectations playing more centrally with Sergi Busquets behind him.
