Manchester United are thought to have turned their attentions to Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic as an alternative to Frenkie de Jong as the Dutchman looks set to stay at Barcelona.
However, Milinkovic-Savic's signature is not exactly going to be easy to secure either, given United's opening bid of £42million for the Serbian is expected to fall £20m short of the price tag set by his club. This part of the deal was actually no such issue when it came to negotiating with Barcelona for De Jong.
The two clubs are reported to have agreed a fee of around £67m plus add-ons, but it was De Jong's desire to stay at the Camp Nou that has thrown such a spanner in the works. The potential move was complicated further by the fact that the 25-year-old is still owed £17m in deferred wages from the La Liga titans.
