Manchester United confident of completing £70 million deal after latest contact with 25-year-old star

Manchester United are reportedly becoming increasingly confident of bringing Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong to Old Trafford this summer.

It has perhaps been the biggest transfer saga so far this summer, with the Red Devils chasing the 25-year-old Dutch midfielder. Reports broke in early May from Gerard Romero that De Jong would likely be heading to United this summer.

Following that, De Jong played down talks of a move, but Barcelona have done little to calm the storm, with reports suggesting that United are fully invested in pursuing the midfielder.

New Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is eager to get his former player, and fresh reports suggest that the Dutch coach is close to convincing De Jong to join him at United. Metro has reported that the Red Devils are close to agreeing a £70 million fee with Barcelona for the Dutch star, who played under Ten Hag for 18 months at Ajax.

SPORT has added that although De Jong's preference is to stay in Catalonia, he has not rejected United's advances thus far.

Neither United nor Barcelona want the potential deal to be a prolonged operation as they look to find a solution this week.

According to the same reports, De Jong is willing to listen to Manchester United's offer, as he knows Barcelona are ready to sell him. The 13-time Premier League winners are the only club willing to match Barca's financial demands. This is despite reported interest from Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and Bayern Munich.

Manchester United looking to secure deals quickly, with Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong top of list

Erik ten Hag eager to bring De Jong (left) to Old Trafford.

Manchester United have endured a difficult time in recent transfer windows, perhaps paying over the odds for many acquistions.

There has been a clear lack of planning at times, with last minute deals being pursued to provide a quick fix rather than establish a long-term project. The signings of Edinson Cavani, Odion Ighalo and Donny Van de Beek are evidence of the same, but the Red Devils seem to have a new structure now in place.

United have been linked with pursuing three players thus far - Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong, Benfica striker Darwin Nunez and Ajax centre-back Jurrien Timber.

Mirror has reported that the Red Devils are looking to use midfielder Andreas Pereira as a makeweight in their bid to bring Nunez to Old Trafford. The 22-year-old Uruguayan striker is likely to cost around £100 million.

According to The Guardian, United have commenced talks with Ajax for Timber, 20, over a £43 million move. The Dutch defender played under Ten Hag and most recently won the Eredivisie title last season.

About the author

Matthew is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who has been covering news, rumors and match reports for close to 3 years. Learning creative writing from University of Essex, he combined his skills and passion for football take up writing for the sport professionally.

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A Manchester United fan since childhood, Matthew admired Sir Alex Ferguson for his loyalty and brave coaching style. His favorite footballer is Thierry Henry, believing the Frenchman to be uniquely talented and charismatic. An ardent Three Lions fan, England's penalty shootout win over Colombia in 2018 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment of all time, and he believes that Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will have a Ballon d’Or duopoly after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

He also follows his local EFL League Two clubs AFC Wimbledon and Sutton United, and spends his free time watching and writing about professional wrestling. He also likes to work out, watch movies and go for night outs.

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