Manchester United will give Frenkie de Jong more time to make a decision on joining them before moving on to alternative targets.
The Red Devils have reportedly struck a £63.5million agreement to sign the 25-year-old, who remains reluctant to leave Barcelona, as they still owe him £14m in unpaid wages. New manager Erik ten Hag made De Jong his No.1 transfer target after he was appointed in May, but despite the pair's good relationship from their time together at Ajax, the midfielder has consistently stood his ground. His stance has forced United chiefs - who flew to Barcelona this week to thrash out a deal - to begrudgingly sound out backup options.
According to BBC Sport, the Red Devils have shortlisted a number of names who profile similarly to De Jong, whose new four-year contract with Barcelona became active on July. And it's in that new deal where the problem lies, as the Dutchman is owed payment from the past two seasons in which he deferred his salary to help the Blaugrana survive during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Two of the alternatives who United could target are Premier League stars Youri Tielemans and Ruben Neves. Leicester City ace Tielemans only has one year left on his deal at the King Power Stadium, meaning that he might be available for a cut-price fee this summer. Meanwhile, Neves has long been expected to leave Wolves for higher calling, but is tied down to Molineux until 2024.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has admitted that De Jong will have to compromise if he wants to stay, with officials informing him that he needs to depart the Camp Nou for financial reasons. However, the Netherlands international knows that Barcelona must honour his contract, with manager Xavi Hernandez unlikely to freeze him out thanks to his silky playmaking ability.
De Jong, who signed for Blaugrana for £65m in 2019, has made 140 appearances in Catalunya and been a regular starter for Barcelona's four permanent managers since his arrival. Before the end of last season, Xavi labelled the former Ajax midfielder "unsellable," while De Jong himself affirmed in June that his preference is to stay put.
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"What I'm saying, there is absolutely nothing of an agreement or anything official," De Jong told ESPN. "At the moment there is no question of it at all – not that I know of in any case. Or they must not have told me, but I don't think so. 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."
He also declared in a news conference: "You're always flattered when teams show interest in you as a player. But I am at the biggest club in the world at the moment and I feel fine there, so no news."
