Manchester United ‘are preparing a FINAL offer to sign Frenkie de Jong’ and will match his £450,000-a-week salary.
Erik ten Hag has told Old Trafford officials to use every trick in the book to land Frenkie de Jong, his top summer transfer target, and Manchester United will make one more desperate effort to entice him away from Barcelona.
As the transfer window prepares to enter its eleventh week, conversations between the two parties and De Jong have grown into the summer’s biggest transfer saga.
By matching his current weekly compensation of £450,000, United is willing to make the Dutch midfielder the highest-paid employee in the organization.
According to Sport in Spain, they are also ready to pay the £17 million in deferred salaries that De Jong is owed by Barcelona.
It is known that when Barcelona returns from their preseason tour of America, Manchester United’s transfer chiefs will attempt to meet with the star’s representation.
The main roadblock to bringing the former Ajax midfielder to Old Trafford so far has been the issue with unpaid wages.
A reported deal worth £74million has already been agreed with Barcelona but De Jong is currently unwilling to swap La Liga for Premier League football.
De Jong will have to accept a pay reduction if he insists on staying in Spain, even though the financially troubled team spent over £100 million on new players this summer, including Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Franck Kessie, and Andreas Christensen.
Any attempt to sign the 25-year-old has become more difficult as a result of United’s failure to earn a spot in the Champions League; the player is eager to compete for a spot at Barcelona and play in Europe’s premier league.
The midfielder is Erik ten Hag’s main goal for the upcoming summer transfer window, but he has already begun looking at other players since the deal appears to be in jeopardy.
According to Sportsmail, Manchester United is also looking at Red Bull Salzburg forward Benjamin Sesko and Stuttgart striker Sasa Kalajdzic.
United is considering the 6ft 7ins tall international from Austria, Kalajdzic, who is up for sale for almost £17 million.
The Austrian player, who formerly played for Admira Wacker, moved to Stuttgart in 2019 and has since scored 24 goals in 57 games.
Sesko, on the other hand, has 13 goals in 41 games for RB Salzburg. Between 2019 to 2021, he spent time on loan at FC Liefering, where he acquired experience.