Manchester United still believe that they can sign Frenkie de Jong, says transfer insider Dean Jones.
A deal to bring the Barcelona midfielder to Old Trafford has become complicated due to multiple reasons, but it appears that Erik ten Hag is still hopeful of landing his former player this summer.
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What is the latest news involving De Jong?
According to SPORT, De Jong is reluctant to join United and would only leave Barcelona for Chelsea, another club who are thought to be interested in the Dutchman.
The Manchester outfit, however, are believed to have an agreement with the La Liga side to sign De Jong this transfer window.
As per The Athletic, the two European giants have settled on an initial £63m fee, but there is clearly a lot of work left for United to do if they are to sign the 25-year-old.
In terms of potential alternatives, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently told GIVEMESPORT that the Premier League club have been offered the chance to sign Leicester City's Youri Tielemans and Wolves' Ruben Neves.
What has Jones said about De Jong to United?
It has been a complex transfer saga, to say the least, but Jones says United are not planning to give up just yet.
Speaking to GMS, the journalist said: "Barcelona have to obviously find a way to open up the structure so that they can register players that they've signed recently, that they need in that squad to start the season.
"So Man United are just going to hang in there because they believe that Frenkie de Jong is not going to fit into the current pay structure."
Will United eventually give up on De Jong?
Given how much effort they have put in, it is hard to imagine United and Ten Hag throwing in the towel. They are probably ready to go right down to the wire with this one.
With both Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic leaving Old Trafford earlier this summer, the Red Devils need to sign at least one new midfielder before the transfer window closes. However, Ten Hag has made it clear that it has to be the right person.
"We're looking for a player who can play in the holding midfield position, but it has to be the right one," the United manager was recently quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror.
De Jong is evidently the player Ten Hag has in mind, and it does indeed sound like he will not settle for anything less.