The Catalonia version of El Periodico today has a look at Barcelona’s transfer situation, and there’s inevitably a mention of Frenkie de Jong and Manchester United.
Since it became clear Erik ten Hag would be taking over at Old Trafford, the Dutch midfielder has been linked with his former Ajax manager.
El Periodico go over the story that we’ve all already heard: Xavi Hernandez wanted to keep the midfielder, who has also wanted to stay. However, the chance of a big boost to Barca’s finances has made everyone think twice.
Manchester United ‘insist’ on signing the player, who El Periodico call ‘one of the great talents in European football’, and Barcelona’s failure to quickly get rid of some fringe players has pushed the pressure a little higher. Riqui Puig, Martin Braithwaite, Clement Lenglet, Oscar Mingueza, Samuel Umtiti and Neto all remain at the Camp Nou, despite them being available.
The club raised some funds last week by selling rights to some of their future income, and whilst that’s eased the general debt-load it hasn’t fixed the situation.
Therefore, there’s a good chance Barcelona will want a reasonably big sale by the end of the month, which surely helps Manchester United in their De Jong pursuit.
