Man Utd’s remaining summer budget if they spend £69m to sign Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong

ten Hag: No 'risk' to come to Manchester United

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A large chunk of Manchester United’s summer transfer budget could be spent on Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, as new manager Erik ten Hag looks to make his first signing of the summer. If United do complete the transfer of De Jong for £69million, they will reportedly only have between £31million and £81million left to spend before sales.

Last month ESPN reported that ten Hag will have a budget of between £100million and £150million before revenue from player sales are accounted for, and a large portion of that budget could be spent on De Jong, who ten Hag knows well from their time at Ajax together.

United are reportedly prepared to pay up to £69million for De Jong, as Barcelona look to raise funds themselves in their pursuit of Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich.

The Dutch midfielder could replace Paul Pogba, who will leave the club upon the expiry of his contract along with several other United midfielders.

The club have announced that Pogba will leave Old Trafford along with Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata, but the trio will not bring in fees to add to ten Hag’s summer budget, apart from the wage bill being trimmed as all three are leaving on a free transfer.

Despite De Jong’s open admission of wanting to stay at Barcelona, United appear undeterred in their pursuit of the 25-year-old. “I have enough confidence in myself [to be a success at Barcelona]. I am not afraid,” De Jong said on international duty. “I recently spoke extensively with the trainer [Xavi]. That was a very good conversation.

“I will not go into that [the links to United]. Not even about other names or clubs. I used to be naive and open-minded about it. I don’t do that anymore. I understand that that link is made.

“That sum is not that difficult, it is logical. I have enjoyed working with Ten Hag at Ajax – and I can’t look into the future, of course. But I prefer to stay at Barcelona.”

If the Manchester club are at the lower end of their reported transfer budget after signing De Jong, it may hamper their bid for Benfica striker Darwin Nunez. The Uruguayan is reportedly “intrigued” by the idea of moving to Old Trafford, and international team-mate Edinson Cavani has been full of praise for the 22-year-old. His club are set to demand in excess of £67million with Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain also said to be interested in the forward that scored 26 goals in 28 Primeira Liga appearances and notched six times in the Champions League as Benfica reached the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Liverpool.

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