Man Utd’s opening bid for Frenkie de Jong with two players behind transfer plan

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Manchester United are weighing up an opening bid of £75million for Frenkie de Jong, according to reports. And though talk of an imminent move to Old Trafford for the Barcelona star are premature, it’s stated Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic are behind the Red Devils’ stance. Whether the 24-year-old ends up reuniting with Erik ten Hag in the Premier League, however, is something only time will tell.

Reports have grown stronger in the last 24 hours linking De Jong with a move to United.

And, now, the Manchester Evening News say the Red Devils are mulling over an opening bid of £75m to test Barcelona’s resolve.

On Wednesday night, it was claimed a deal to take De Jong to Old Trafford was ’95 per cent done’ in a stunning development.

Yet while that’s said not to be the case, United are genuinely interested in securing the signature of the promising 24-year-old.

It’s stated that United want to sign a midfielder ‘swiftly’ to compensate for the imminent departures of Matic and Pogba.

Matic has already confirmed he’ll be on the move, having been at the club ever since arriving from Chelsea in 2017.

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The Serbia international has been professional throughout his time at the club but has failed to win a single trophy since touching down.

Pogba, meanwhile, is yet to clarify his future.

United have made the France international a new contract offer amid links to Real Madrid, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain.

Manchester City had also been in the running to land Pogba at one point, in a move that would have had similarities to when Carlos Tevez crossed the divide in 2009.

Yet Pogba has ruled out a move to the Etihad Stadium at the current moment in time, despite Pep Guardiola being a big admirer.

In any case, it still seems as though the 2018 World Cup winner will leave United as a free agent for a second time.

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And that’s why the Red Devils are now accelerating plans, with De Jong now appearing to be their top target.

If signed, it would see the 24-year-old reunite with Ten Hag in the Premier League.

The duo previously worked well together at Ajax, helping the Eredivisie outfit reach the final of the Champions League in 2019.

And Ten Hag hailed De Jong that same year, saying: “He is always calm and always has the solution. He scans so well that he always knows how to go forward.

“You can hardly put him under pressure – that is such a great gift.”

In a separate interview, he then said of the Barcelona star: “The quality of your players decide how you will play, and with what system. We had to find a way to make Frenkie function in the best possible way.

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The Serbia international has been professional throughout his time at the club but has failed to win a single trophy since touching down.

Pogba, meanwhile, is yet to clarify his future.

United have made the France international a new contract offer amid links to Real Madrid, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain.

Manchester City had also been in the running to land Pogba at one point, in a move that would have had similarities to when Carlos Tevez crossed the divide in 2009.

Yet Pogba has ruled out a move to the Etihad Stadium at the current moment in time, despite Pep Guardiola being a big admirer.

In any case, it still seems as though the 2018 World Cup winner will leave United as a free agent for a second time.

“You saw his incredible talent, but where do we have to use him to get the best out of him and his talent?

“Eventually I decided to play with two ‘No 6 players’ on the pitch.

“Once I did this you saw how much better he became on the pitch, and how much better he made the whole team play and especially the attackers.”

United have previously signed 10 players from La Liga over the years.

Under Sir Alex Ferguson, the likes of Jordi Cruyff, Quentin Fortune, Ricardo, Gerard Pique and David De Gea arrived.

With Louis van Gaal at the helm, Ander Herrera, Angel Di Maria and Victor Valdes touched down.

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And, since then, United have proceeded to land Eric Bailly and Raphael Varane.

Meanwhile, speaking recently, Barcelona star Xavi insisted De Jong would be a key part of his plans for many years to come.

He said last month: “He has to be a player that makes the difference and he does.

“There aren’t many players with his quality in the world.

“He’s the present and the future [at Barca]. He is a very important player for me.

“He’s capable, strong, he gets into the box… He has had some excellent games, but he has to be consistent.”

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