Frenkie de Jong prefers the option of reuniting with Erik ten Hag at Manchester United than going to Chelsea and with the player's agent is in London to meet with United.
That is according to a report from Manu Sainz, who reiterated previous reports that Chelsea are interested in the Barca player.
However, he added that Old Trafford is his preferred destination out of the two clubs.
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This is down to Erik ten Hag, with De Jong keen to work with his former manager yet again.
Simon Jones' report for the Daily Mail on Thursday evening double-downed on this stance, a significant report as it was the first from English media to clarify the situation.
The Dutchmen were together at Ajax for two years before the 25-year-old left for Spain in 2019.
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Since then, De Jong has been unable to reach the heights that he was hitting when under Ten Hag, and will be hoping to reignite his career at United as a key member for the new manager.
Some believe that United is more suited to the player, with Sergio Busquets' role at the Nou Camp clashing with De Jong's preferred placement in the team.
The aforementioned report also says that De Jong's agent is in London to meet with United.
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Ali Dursun, De Jong's agent, is also the man in charge of United's first signing of the summer, Tyrell Malacia.
He also manages Victor Lindelöf and Donny van de Beek, and was pictured at Carrington earlier this week as United got the deal for the Dutch left-back over the line.
However, the deal is not so simple, and Thomas Tuchel's men will not roll over.
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Sainz also mentioned that Chelsea bosses are travelling to Barcelona to meet with the Spanish club.
They will discuss several names such as César Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso and, of course, De Jong.
It has been reported that that there will be no swap deals involved in a move for De Jong.
Finally, the report from Sainz reiterates previous Spanish reports that De Jong's first choice is to still stay at the Catalan club.
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Yet, it seems that the Spanish club cannot afford to keep him, as they want to progress on deals elsewhere.
They also reportedly owe De Jong in excess of £17 million in wages, which is a reason why progression in the deal has taken so long.
Topics: Manchester United, Manchester United Transfer News & Rumours, Transfers, Chelsea, Barcelona, Frenkie De Jong, Erik Ten Hag, Football, Premier League