Manchester United are claimed to be confident about sealing a deal to sign Frenkie de Jong as soon as next week after further talks with Barcelona.
The 25-year-old was quickly established as Erik ten Hag's top target when United appointed the Dutchman in April. His desire to bring De Jong in before the Red Devils' first pre-season tour in July is believed to have slowed down their efforts to complete five other transfers such as Ajax star Antony and Brentford ace Christian Eriksen.
Ten Hag views the Netherlands playmaker as the ideal candidate to help fix United's midfield, which has struggled to dominate matches in recent seasons. The pair worked together at Ajax and notably reached the Champions League semi-final in 2019, before De Jong swapped Amsterdam for Catalunya.
The Red Devils had begun negotiations with a lowball bid but thanks to Ten Hag pushing for the deal to go through, United have now risen closer to Barcelona's asking price of £68.8million. According to Catalan outlet Sport, De Jong is waiting until a deal is stuck between the clubs to decide on a five-year contract offer, but United hope to have him through the door by June 30.
De Jong has been hesitant to depart the Camp Nou after three up-and-down seasons. Speaking during the international break, De Jong made clear to ESPN : "I prefer to stay with Barcelona. Barcelona is just my dream club. Also from a young age. I just said it too.
"I've never regretted my choice despite the fact that I had hoped for more in terms of prizes than I've achieved so far. But I have never regretted my choice."
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Ten Hag has room in his midfield after the Red Devils waved goodbye to Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic and Jesse Lingard, a trio whose contracts at Old Trafford all expire next Thursday. United's new-look recruitment team have been focussing on ways to upgrade the position since making the decision to appoint the 52-year-old.
The similarities between the 20-time English champions and Ajax perhaps convinced Ten Hag that De Jong would slot in comfortably. "I think that's the comparison," the Dutch tactician told manutd.com in his first interview. "I have been in Bayern Munich, I have been in Ajax and now I come to Man United.
"I know our opponents are highly motivated, they are over-motivated to beat Man United and we have to be ready for that. To go and win that battle. Even if they are over-motivated, we have to be more. We always have to be more willing to win the game than the opponent."
At Camp Nou however, De Jong is seen by boss Xavi Hernandez as an expendable asset amid the club's financial issues, particularly with young stars Pedri and Gavi continuing to grow and veteran club skipper Sergio Busquets still in situ.
