Frenkie De Jong Overview: Manchester United Formally Open Talks To Sign Barcelona Midfielder

Manchester United have formally opened talks with Barcelona over the potential transfer of Frenkie de Jong, according to reports.

In a significant turn of events earlier today, it was reported that De Jong had privately indicated that the prospect of a move to Old Trafford appealed to him. Since then, things seem to have picked up at a very decent pace in the media regarding the potential transfer.

talkSPORT mentioned that the club were increasingly confident of signing the player and concluding a deal swiftly.

They went on to mention that the player had given the green light for a move, prompting United to step up negotiations with Barcelona.

This was further reiterated by the reliable Sami Mokbel, who mentioned that Frenkie wanted to join United and is open to a potential move.

He also went on to mention that the club are in talks over a move now and that Barcelona want around £65 million. 

The aforementioned report also stated that there was a growing feeling a deal can be struck. As expected, the prospect of a reunion with Erik ten Hag was mentioned as a major factor in the player's willingness to go ahead with any move.

Frenkie de Jong with Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag when the pair were together at Ajax in 2019. (Alamy)

It was also said that United had made an initial offer, but that an agreement hadn't been reached between clubs.

Jason Burt of Telegraph Sport then specifically went on to mention that United had formally opened talks to sign De Jong. He also said that an agreement over personal terms won't be an issue, as the player would like to work again with Erik ten Hag.

Burt also mentioned the same price point as Mokbel - reiterating that a fee of £65m was being mooted. It was further stated that United had opened negotiations with Barcelona by presenting an initial offer for the player.

The details of an offer were further conveyed by Fabrizio Romano, who mentioned that United had made a bid for the player which was worth around £51.3m as a fixed payment and £8.5m in variables - an offer which Barcelona had rejected, even though the clubs remained in contact.

The report further mentioned that Barcelona valued the player at around £72.6m.

This was also put forward by David McDonnell of Mirror Sport, who mentioned that United had made a £60m offer for the player - but expected it to be rejected, which turned out to be the case. He also said that United are ready to return with an improved proposal.

Frenkie de Jong in action for FC Barcelona Atletico de Madrid at Camp Nou Stadium (Alamy)

Charlotte Duncker of Times Sport also reported that Barcelona would be ready to accept a bid in the region of around £65m for Frenkie de Jong, who's open to a move to United.

However, in what was a diversion from the usual price points being mentioned, Samuel Marsden and Moises Llorens specified that Barcelona wanted a fee of around £85.4m as a 'total package' to sell the player.

They went on to state that Barcelona were open to negotiating the breakdown of that figure - as in how much of it would be a guaranteed payment and the subsequent amounts of add-ons.

While there is a bit of disparity as of now between the price points being reported, things seemed to have moved on a fair bit. We now know the player is open to a move, that the two clubs are in formal negotiations for the player, and that a proposal has apparently already been rejected.

One would think United will do their best to get Erik ten Hag his number one target after having conquered what seemed like the more difficult part of this transfer, which was convincing the player to make a move.