Barcelona make it their priority to beat Man Utd to €50m target

Donny van de Beek TEAMtalk

Ronald Koeman wants to make Manchester United target Donny Van De Beek his priority signing once he is confirmed as the new Barcelona manager.

Barcelona have sacked Quique Setien following their embarrassing 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Koeman is the favourite to replace him.

And according to Le10 Sport, the former Southampton and Everton boss wants to sign Donny Van De Beek from Ajax.

Koeman has worked with Van De Beek in his role as the Netherlands’ international manager for the past two years. And once he is officially appointed at Camp Nou, he wants to continue their association.

Reports have mentioned Van De Beek as a midfield target for Manchester United. The 23-year-old could be a cheaper alternative to Jack Grealish, for example.

Van De Beek would cost around €50m. And it appears that Barcelona, rather than Man Utd, may be the ones to pay that fee.

Barca have already brought in Miralem Pjanic from Juventus to strengthen their midfield. However, they are looking for further reinforcements – and Koeman knows Van De Beek well.

Therefore, Koeman has made the midfielder his “priority” for the transfer market. That’s the opposite stance to rivals Real Madrid, who have been linked with the player, but are still holding out for Paul Pogba.

Van De Beek starred in Ajax’s run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2018-19. But unlike teammates Frenkie De Jong – now of Barca himself – and Matthijs De Ligt, he stayed with the Eredivisie club after.

VAN DE BEEK HINTS AT TRANSFER PLANS

Now, 2020 could be the year for him to finally bid farewell to the only club he has represented so far. In fact, he admitted last week that his transfer plans may have been different had it not been for coronavirus.

“It is very messy, in any case a very messy period in terms of transfers,” he told Fox Sports. “Nothing is certain yet. I am still a player of Ajax and I am still proud to be there.

“If there had not been the coronavirus, it might have been different now. There is no clarity now and we have to wait and see how it turns out.”

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