Man Utd make ‘irresistible offer’ for Barcelona star as Ratcliffe has ‘additional incentive’ up his sleeve

Man Utd are ready to offer ‘significant’ money to finally convince Frenkie de Jong to leave Barcelona this summer, according to reports.

Erik ten Hag was desperate to sign De Jong in his first summer at Man Utd , who agreed a £63million fee with the Catalan giants.

However, the Dutch midfielder did not want to leave Barcelona and snubbed interest from the Red Devils all summer.

Man Utd ended up turning their attention to Real Madrid’s Casemiro and swiftly agreed a deal to sign the Brazilian midfielder.

Links to De Jong remain and crop up every now and again, which is exactly what has happened this week.

Man Utd make ‘irresistible offer’ for Barcelona superstar

According to reports in Spain, Man Utd have made ‘an irresistible offer’ to sign De Jong this summer.

This ‘proposal to leave’ could see a ‘radical change in De Jong’s future’, though it is emphasised that a Barcelona exit is far from guaranteed.

The Dutch international has always said he wants to have a long and successful career at Barcelona but the chance to reunite with his former Ajax coach Ten Hag and team-mate Matthijs de Ligt ‘could be an additional incentive to consider the offer’.

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Man Utd have been strongly linked with Bayern Munich defender De Ligt for a while and are reportedly looking to sign him as an alternative to Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite – who they have had two bids for rejected by the Toffees.

De Ligt is ‘a great friend of De Jong’ which makes the circumstances ‘different’ after Man Utd were snubbed by the midfielder two years ago.

The report adds that Red Devils owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is ‘willing to put a significant figure on the table’ to land De Jong this summer and ‘the arrival of De Ligt could convince him’.

The issue Man Utd has is that De Jong is ‘very comfortable in Barcelona’ due to his incredibly high salary and his family being settled.

Furthermore, new Blaugrana head coach Hansi Flick views him as a crucial player in his system.

Board members in Catalonia, however, know De Jong could bring in a large sum of money and amidst their financial woes, a sale would do them the world of good.

It is added that Man Utd will have to offer ‘close to 70 million euros’ (£59m) for the 27-year-old.

The report adds:

However, Manchester United’s offer, combined with the possibility of reuniting with De Ligt and working under Ten Hag, could be attractive enough to make him reconsider his future. The decision will not be easy, and De Jong will have to weigh his options.

What is clear is that if United finally decide to go for De Jong, Barça will not sell him at a bargain price. And the fact is that the Barça club knows that Frenkie is one of the players for whom they can get the most money.

In the offices of the Catalan team there is talk of figures close to 70 million euros to let De Jong leave, aware that if the former Ajax player leaves they will have to sign someone for the midfield.

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