United and Barcelona £17.2m apart on De Jong’s valuation
Manchester United are still keen to sign Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona but the two clubs remain about €20million (£17.2million) apart in their valuations of the Netherlands midfielder.
Erik ten Hag, the new United manager, has identified De Jong as his priority target this summer and the club remain hopeful of striking a deal with the Catalan giants.
It is understood that Barcelona want to at least recoup the €86million they committed to sign De Jong from Ajax in 2019 but United’s valuation is thought to be closer to €65 million.
Barcelona ideally need to sell to raise funds to strengthen their squad and United also know they are the only club seriously in for De Jong. The 25-year-old’s high wages are also thought to be problematic for Barcelona since they are considerably more than those earned by the club’s emerging midfielders such as Pedri and Gavi.
There has been disquiet among some sections of the Old Trafford fan base on social media that United have yet to sign anyone, but the club – derided in the past for paying over the odds for players – are prepared to walk away from a deal for De Jong if a compromise is not reached with Barcelona.
It is understood that United’s interest in Christian Eriksen is not tied to what happens with De Jong. United have presented an offer to the Denmark playmaker – who is also wanted by Tottenham, Newcastle and Brentford, where he impressed on a short-term contract in the final months of last season – and could still sign the 30-year-old as a free agent even if De Jong joins.
The departures of Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Nemanja Matic as free agents have left United light in midfield and Ten Hag wants an injection of quality in that area of the pitch.
Of all United’s targets, De Jong is the one the club would like to get in first, given the important role Ten Hag envisages for him. They cannot wait indefinitely but have no interest in paying over the odds.
Those United players who were not on international duty this month are due to return for the start of preseason training on June 27 but others will not come back until shortly before the squad fly to Thailand for the start of their summer tour on July 8. United play Liverpool in Bangkok on July 12.
It is thought the most detailed training-ground work Ten Hag is planning will be done on the second leg of the tour in Australia. United’s final pre-season matches are against Atletico Madrid in Oslo on July 30 and at home to Rayo Vallecano the next day.