Frenkie De Jong is refusing to leave Barcelona despite the club accepting an offer from Manchester United, according to reports in Spain.
The midfield has been Erik ten Hag's No.1 target since arriving at Old Trafford and an offer worth £70m - £56m of it being upfront - was agreed between the two parties following weeks of negotiations. However, the player himself is determined to remain at the Nou Camp.
De Jong moved to Spain from Ajax, where he worked with Ten Hag, three years ago and has often declared it his dream move. United are in a rebuild phase and cannot offer Champions League football whilst the Catalan club are looking to push on under new boss Xavi and claim vital financial funds.
The Dutch midfielder is growing frustrated by those who are seemingly pushing him out of the club, reports Sport. He has also been concerned by the attitude of his agent, Ali Dursun, who is forcing through a switch to Manchester. Barcelona need to balance the books and see De Jong as an expensive asset they can move on.
Any agreement between the Red Devils and the Spanish club is reliant on the player being willing to move - which currently remains a major issue. De Jong recently said on the speculation: "I will not go into that [the links to United]. Not even about other names or clubs.
"I used to be naive and open-minded about it. I don’t do that anymore. I understand that that link is made. That sum is not that difficult, it is logical. I have enjoyed working with Ten Hag at Ajax – and I can’t look into the future, of course. But I prefer to stay at Barcelona. That has always been my dream club and it still is. As long as I don’t hear from the club management, I assume nothing is going on."
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United are in need of new recruits as Ten Hag awaits the first signing of his tenure. The departures of Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic has furthered their need to bring in new faces in the middle of the park and they have put most of their focus on adding De Jong.
Club chief Richard Arnold was recently filmed speaking about the transfer, underlining the club's determination to bring in the Dutchman. He said: "Money is not a consideration on who we want. The manager wants him (De Jong) and they have actually done the work on looking at him... he's a great player." De Jong has made 140 appearances for Barcelona since joining from Ajax for £65m.
