Manchester United’s pursuit of Frenkie de Jong looks to be this summer’s transfer saga, and after the rejection of the first bid the club are now internally discussing making a second offer.
In a tweet by the highly-regarded Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, it is said that Manchester United are internally discussing the possibility of submitting a fresh bid to Barcelona for Frenkie de Jong, after their initial bid was rejected.
Those in charge at Old Trafford are reportedly confident that Barcelona will lower their asking price ahead of a second bid with their financial situation not providing them with too much leverage.
Advert
Erik Ten Hag is very set on the fact that his former player de Jong is his number one target for United’s midfield.
CEO Richard Arnold has delegated the handling of transfers to Ten Hag and Football Director John Murtough.
Ten Hag extracted the best of De Jong at Ajax, making him look far and away the best young midfielder on the planet, and he is eager to build his Manchester United team around the Dutchman.
.jpg)
In his few years at Barcelona, the Dutchman's career has somewhat stagnated, and his qualities have not been put to best use.
Advert
With the departure of Paul Pogba, United have taken a major hit in what was an already weak area of the team.
De Jong is probably one of the only players they can sign to replace him.
United are yet to make a signing this summer, and fans are extremely frustrated by the club’s lack of activity in comparison to their peers.
Manchester City have recently signed Erling Haaland, who was a previous target of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at United.
Advert
While Liverpool also beat United in the race for Darwin Nunez from Benfica.
Both clubs are miles ahead of United, yet are getting deals done so early in the transfer market.
But if this deal for De Jong is closed soon then it will not only ease some tensions within the fanbase but also allow the club to pursue other targets, with further reinforcement needed in midfield after Frenkie de Jong.
Whilst the clubs are reportedly €10-15 million apart in their valuations of the guaranteed fee for the player, United will hope that they can close the deal this upcoming week without having to deviate too far from their initial bid.
Advert
They will want the player to be available for pre-season in order to fully integrate him into the squad ahead of the 2022/23 season.
Manchester United will hope to return to playing Champions League with a strengthened side next campaign.
Frenkie will be crucial to this, and thus it is imperative that the signing is sorted well in advance of this so that he can be present for the club’s full tour and get to know his new teammates well.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Manchester United, Manchester United Transfer News & Rumours, Transfers, Frenkie De Jong, Barcelona, Erik Ten Hag, Football, Ajax