Manchester United CEO and Football Director Spotted In Barcelona

Two of Manchester United’s most important negotiators, Richard Arnold and John Murtough, have been spotted in Barcelona as they try to conclude a deal for Frenkie de Jong.

The transfer itself has been dragging on for months, with it starting to enter “saga” territory, as Erik ten Hag has personally requested that the midfielder be brought to Old Trafford.

Ten Hag wants to shape his Manchester United squad around the young Dutchman, and after the losses of Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic earlier on this window, making sure the club signs De Jong is a priority.

With the lack of transfer activity frustrating stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, the club will be keen to get this deal done as soon as possible to give the player the maximum amount of time to settle in before the start of the Premier League season.

Erik ten Hag is keen to do so, and wants at least 5 players this summer before the Premier League season kicks off in order to revamp his squad.

According to reports from Spain, this is the second time that they have been in Barcelona to discuss the transfer of Frenkie de Jong, and according to Barcelona based journalist Gerard Romero, “things are hot” is the message from Barcelona.

Richard Arnold was in Barcelona last week to meet with Barcelona’s representatives, which includes former Manchester United player Jordi Cryuff.

There have been many reasons as to why Frenkie de Jong is yet to sign for the club that so desperately wants him, from the player’s reported preference to stay to the fact that they owe him £17 million in deferred wages.

The pair have been filmed in Barcelona, walking presumably towards the offices of the club.

Frenkie de Jong is not Manchester United’s only target for this summer window.

The club have officially unveiled Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord as their first signing of the summer, after they swiftly hijacked the deal Feyenoord had in place with Lyon for the player to transfer to the side in South France.

Christian Eriksen is set to be announced as a Manchester United signing this week, after the player verbally agreed over a week ago to sign on a free contract. Eriksen needs to go through medical tests and put pen to paper before that deal can be viewed as completed.

Lisandro Martinez has been the new name on all journalists lips, with the club submitting two bids to Ajax for the defender. Although neither have been accepted, it feels a completed deal is only a matter of time as the player has reportedly prepared to refuse to train should the two clubs not come to an agreement soon.

Based off this revelation, Arnold and Murtough, should Ajax not come to an agreement, may well fly to Amsterdam to meet in person with Ajax to finalise a deal.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the other dramatic story of Manchester United’s window so far. The player wants to leave due to concerns over a lack of ability to win trophies, and did not travel with the squad to Bangkok to face Liverpool on their pre-season tour due to personal reasons.

Erik ten Hag mentioned on Monday that he fully expects Ronaldo to join them later on in the tour.

Andreas Pereira has officially signed with Fulham FC for an undisclosed fee after spending over 10 years at the Manchester club.