Manchester United ‘give ultimatum’ to Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong ahead of Erik ten Hag’s overhaul

Manchester United have spoken to representatives of Frenkie de Jong and want a response from the Barcelona midfielder about him becoming one of boss Erik ten Hag’s first signings, according to a report.

Dutch midfielder De Jong played under Erik ten Hag at Ajax between 2016 and 2019 and would be available for around £65million if Barca can replace the 25-year-old with a big name.

Barcelona’s salary cap is finally not negative this summer, but a planned £1.3bn stadium renovation and the £331m owed by the club in deferred wages means club president Joan Laporta remains open to it. unloading players.

Erik ten Hag (left) and Man United football chief John Murtough are planning an overhaul of the squad

Ten Hag worked with Frenkie de Jong at Ajax and could be reunited with the Dutch star

United are giving chase and ready to ‘bet big’ on De Jong but want a definitive answer after telling the player’s camp they can’t wait any longer, sport.es Has claimed.

The lack of Champions League football at Old Trafford could count against United next season as De Jong makes his decision, the report said.

De Jong is said to have reiterated his desire to stay at the club he joined in 2019 for £65million, while Barca manager Xavi has expressed his hope that the former Eredivisie player of the season will remain part of his plans.

A Spanish media report on Thursday said Barca would be willing to let De Jong leave if they can replace him with FIFA player of the year Robert Lewandowski or Manchester City playmaker Bernardo Silva.

Laporta admitted to Le Sportius: ‘At the moment everything is open.

“The truth is there are players we’ve revamped who have a present and a future, and it’s clear we want them to stay in our ranks.

“And there are others who also have high quality but have a market, also have proposals, and in this case a lot will depend on the question of [financial] fair game.

“I’m talking about the Barca first team players and there are many who have great quality.

‘Frenkie has good quality; he knows our system and yes he is a coveted player in the market and we have had proposals but we think he should stay with barca.’

De Jong played in all of Barça’s Champions League and Europa League matches this season.

Xavi chose De Jong in all but one of the league games he was available for following the club legend’s arrival as manager in November.

Xavi discussed De Jong before Barcelona’s last game of the season: ‘He is a great footballer.

“I told him he can make a difference and be part of an important era. I really like Frenkie: he is very capable, a player who dominates the game. He can help us, but we’ll see what the situation is.’