Any faint hope Manchester United may have had of still landing Frenkie de Jong appears to have been quashed as the Dutch midfielder prepares to bolster his Barcelona salary.
United made little secret of the fact De Jong was their priority transfer target throughout the most recent window, with Red Devils football director John Murtough flying out to Catalonia to try and broker a deal with the La Liga titans for the Netherlands international.
Barcelona, as a result of their perilous financial predicament, were more than willing to cash in on the 25-year-old and at one stage agreed a fee with United of around £65million. However, De Jong was adamant he had no desire to leave the Camp Nou and dug his heels in.
