Manchester United have endured a slow start to this summer’s transfer window, with Erik ten Hag’s maiden summer perhaps not going exactly how he would have liked it to go.
Six senior players have already left the club on free transfers and serious surgery is expected as Ten Hag aims to shape the squad to his liking.
As part of that makeover, Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong emerged as Ten Hag’s prime target this summer and it’s believed that negotiations between United and the Catalan club have been encouraging recently.
According to recent reports, an agreement is now close and United would ideally like to get the move over the line before the end of this month.
Similar suggestions were made earlier on Sunday, with The Times claiming that United are closing in on a deal to sign De Jong after getting ready to raise their bid to €80m, which is believed to have narrowed the gap in valuation between the two clubs.
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Furthermore, as per the report, Ten Hag made it clear that United should focus on securing De Jong’s signature before moving on to other targets.
When the 25-year-old’s arrival has been sealed, it’s believed that ‘a series’ of other signings will follow the Dutchman through the door at Carrington – a huge boost to Ten Hag’s quest to turn United’s fortunes around.
SN’s verdict…
United’s start to the window might have been slow but with a resolution to the De Jong saga finally in sight, fans will be hoping that further fresh faces are brought in.
Ideally, United would like to sign another midfielder in addition to De Jong and reinforce their attacking options, with United already light in that area.
There are doubts over Cristiano Ronaldo’s future and as things stand, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho are the club’s only senior wide players.
A centre-back could also be on the agenda but that will depend on whether there are significant sales, with the club already homing six players in the department. Eric Bailly, Axel Tuanzebe and Phil Jones could all leave.