Manchester United manager ten Hag hopes to land £70m de Jong

Manchester United are closing in on the signing of Frenkie de Jong after the gap narrowed between themselves and Barcelona on a valuation for the Holland midfielder.

United are ready to increase their offer for De Jong to about €80 million (£70 million), and the signals are that Barcelona may be willing to do a deal at such a price. The Catalans have been holding out for a fee of €85m but are keen to conclude a transfer before Thursday, the date when Spanish clubs close their accounts.

The development in the long-running De Jong saga reflects a desire from United’s hierarchy to back the new manager Erik ten Hag, after he made clear his determination for the midfielder to be his first and therefore agenda-setting signing.

Ten Hag has stressed to United that he wants the club to focus on landing the 25-year-old before proceeding with other deals. Once De Jong is secured, a series of further arrivals at Old Trafford is expected.

Barcelona rejected two previous offers from United, of €60m and then €70m, and in recent days the clubs have moved closer in their valuations. A fee of €80m would allow the debt-stricken Catalan giants to roughly recoup what they paid when buying De Jong from Ajax in 2019 and go further toward improving their balance sheet before Wednesday’s accounting deadline.

A deal at such a price would involve a lower initial payment from United, plus achievable add-ons, likely to be spread over several seasons. While €80m would represent a very significant chunk of United’s summer transfer budget, Ten Hag regards De Jong as worth it, given the pair’s success when working together at Ajax and the player’s creative and tactical excellence in midfield.

Since arriving in Spain after helping Ten Hag’s Ajax to reach the 2019 Champions League semi-finals, De Jong has managed 40 key passes in each of his two La Liga seasons, a level of output reached only by the legendary Xavi for Barcelona since the 2014-15 season. Securing such a talent, Ten Hag believes, would represent a keynote statement at the start of his reign.

Landing De Jong could also help United in their pursuit of Christian Eriksen. The Dane, who is out of contract, is mulling over an array of offers including from Everton, Newcastle United, Leicester City and one to stay at Brentford, where he enjoyed a successful reintroduction to competitive football in the second half of last season after coming back from a cardiac arrest during last summer’s European Championship.

United are his most high-profile suitor but Eriksen is in no rush to make a decision on his future and keen to gauge the levels of ambition and types of squads behind assembled by the clubs who want him. Playing with De Jong, who was also developed in the Ajax system, would represent an attraction.

United are also interested in the exciting Feyenoord left back Tyrell Malacia but face serious competition from Lyon, who have submitted three bids for the 22-year-old. However they are still in the race and Malacia is another deal that could be progressed once De Jong was secured.

Ten Hag begins pre-season training with his new squad on Monday and is set to place a heavy emphasis on ball work, even when putting players through conditioning drills.

He expects high levels of fitness but believes these can be achieved through exercises that involve running with the ball and continual small-sided games at the end of training. “If you give a player a ball they forget they are running,” Ten Hag said as the Ajax coach. “Players just want to be with the balls. Give them what they love.”