Frenkie de Jong doubles down to leave Man Utd transfer in flux, as agents’ powerplay leaves Ten Hag sweating

A Frenkie de Jong transfer to Man Utd is ‘stalling’ after the player and his agents have drawn the line on two fronts, according to a trusted source.

United’s pursuit of Frenkie de Jong has developed into the No 1 transfer saga of the summer. The classy Dutchman is Erik ten Hag’s primary target in midfield and is viewed as the perfect player to pull the strings in his system.

Manchester United are understood to have forged an agreement worth around £56m prior to add-ons. However, that is only one small part of the story.

De Jong is reportedly owed around  €17m in salary by Barcelona after agreeing to defer a large portion of his wages during the Covid pandemic.

There had been talk of Barcelona attempting to push a portion of those unpaid wages onto United, or forgo the unpaid sum entirely.

However, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, that is something De Jong is refusing to accept.

He tweeted De Jong and his agents, Ali Dursun and Hasan Cetinkaya, are ‘not accepting any salary reduction’. What’s more, they’re said to be unwilling to even discuss that particular topic.

If that issue wasn’t bad enough, Romano also added De Jong’s agents have informed Barcelona once again that their client has ‘no intention’ of leaving the club.

Man Utd move ‘stalling’

Barca are desperate to sell in order to fund other moves. They have struck an agreement to sign Raphinha from Leeds United and retain hope of landing Robert Lewandowski.

Financing those moves without selling De Jong will be difficult, but the player and his agents are putting their foot down.

As such, Romano worryingly concluded that Man Utd’s move is ‘stalling’.

United chiefs Richard Arnold and John Murtough had travelled to Catalonia earlier this week to try and push a deal over the line. Subsequent reports claimed they were tired of how long the saga had dragged on and hoped a deal could be wrapped up by Friday.

That now appears increasingly unlikely, and the idea De Jong may not wind up at Old Trafford altogether must now be considered.

Frenkie de Jong miss a bitter blow

The Dutchman has the tools to orchestrate Ten Hag’s plans from the centre circle. Adding a player of his quality to the engine room would finally allow Man Utd to assert a measure of control on games.

United’s long chase is therefore understandable, though the lengthy saga is doing them no favours.

Why do Manchester United want Frenkie de Jong?

Why do Manchester United want Frenkie de Jong when the player seemingly doesn't want a move to Old Trafford?

The longer the potential move drags on, the less time Ten Hag will have to splice De Jong into his pre-season preparations.

What’s more, if the move does ultimately collapse, United will have wasted over a month of Ten Hag’s first window in charge on a dead end and the scramble to sign an alternative target will begin.