remain intent on signing Frenkie de Jong and have not been put off by the Dutchman’s desire to remain at .
The Red Devils agreed a £63m deal with Barcelona for the midfielder last month but the transfer has barely progressed since then.
Barcelona owe De Jong £17m in deferred wages, which De Jong agreed to to ease the club’s financial burdens during the pandemic.
Though De Jong remains keen to stay at the Camp Nou, he will not countenance leaving the club without them paying him what he is owed.
The situation has been played out far differently in public than what is happening behind the scenes, with Barcelona claiming they want to keep De Jong.
United are understandably growing frustrated and Erik ten Hag has stressed how important the midfielder is to his plans.
The club have explored alternative options, including Youri Tielemans and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, but Ten Hag is unconvinced that there’s another player that offers the same attributes as De Jong.
According to the Manchester Evening News, United feel De Jong’s stance has been shaped by the situation regarding his deferred wages and that he’s reluctant to go public with wanting to leave the club as it could be used against him.
United have dismissed Barcelona’s public declarations that they want to keep De Jong as ‘face-saving’ and it’s well known that the club must sell in order to register a raft of new players for domestic matches.
Barcelona have signed Robert Lewandowski, Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie and Raphinha so far this summer.
The Catalans are keen on signing Bernardo Silva from Manchester City.
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