Man Utd in contact for £600,000-p/w midfielder; Ratcliffe happy to pay £40m

In regards to incomings, centre-back Leny Yoro and centre-forward Joshua Zirkzee have been the marquee arrivals, but more is still wanted at Old Trafford to bolster Erik ten Hag’s squad.

For example, a double deal for Bayern Munich duo Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt is being worked on, and alongside the right-back and centre-back, a midfielder is also on the Old Trafford wishlist.

There have been plenty of rumours as to who that midfield addition could be, with Paris Saint-Germain’s Manuel Ugarte the most heavily linked target. There are also alternatives to Ugarte, with contact being made to Burnley’s Sander Berge, whereas talks have also been held for AS Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana.

Now, attention has turned back to a long-term target that United supporters will know all about.

Man Utd make Frenkie De Jong approach

According to Manchester World, Man Utd have made an approach to Barcelona over a deal for Frenkie de Jong. The Dutch midfielder was heavily linked with a move to work with Ten Hag during the 2022 transfer market, but as we know, a move never materialised.

Now, it looks as if the Red Devils could try again, with the report stating that ‘United have made a tentative approach to Barcelona in recent days to ascertain De Jong’s availability, with the Premier League side open to completing a deal if a fee around the £30m-£40m mark can be agreed’.

De Jong, on a whopping £600,000-a-week with the Catalan giants, has been with Barcelona since 2019 and has made more than 200 appearances for the club. Prior to that, De Jog was at Ajax, where he worked under Ten Hag, turning out 59 times under the current United boss. Ten Hag is a big fan of the current Barcelona star, saying last year:

“Frenkie is an incredible player and for every club in the whole world he will strengthen the squad because he has a unique quality. If you can get him in the squad your team will be stronger. In Spain he became even better. He’s a fantastic player, plays out from the back, he always has time and it was a pleasure to work with him.”

Who knows, a move this summer could finally come off, but for now, a tentative approach has been made, making this one to watch.