Manchester United and their saga of signing Frenkie de Jong seem unending. United are in the negotiations for two weeks, but transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has recently talked about the complications in the deal. Romano has been consistently providing updates on United’s De Jong pursuit and has now come up with further details.
Ever since Barcelona have put up De Jong for sale, United are leading the race to sign the midfielder. The Red Devils want to reunite their new manager Erik ten Hag with his former player. Though De Jong was reportedly against a move, the Dutchman has finally accepted his exit. While United are still tangled in the details, Romano reports that the transfer is far from smooth.
Romano revealed a couple of days ago that United have finalized a package of £74 million for De Jong. It includes a guaranteed fee of £56 million, along with further add-ons. There are reports as well that the Premier League side has fixed a date for De Jong’s medicals. But the curiosity remains that if a fee has been agreed, and a medical scheduled then what is stopping United from announcing De Jong.
Romano points to disagreement between United and Barcelona
While talking on his YouTube channel, Romano cited the reasons for United being unable to close the agreement for De Jong. Barcelona at first rejected United’s two bids which didn’t match their asking price. The Catalans need to balance their financial books and as a result, are facilitating De Jong’s sale. However, after agreeing on the fee, both the clubs are still not able to reach a full agreement.
Romano on the same said,
“It was almost impossible for this deal to be done by today. I’ve always been told this because it’s about the negotiations between the two clubs, it’s the negotiations about the add-ons, because the two clubs are really close to agreeing a fee for €65million (£56million) plus €20million (£17.3million) add-ons. This is what the two clubs are really prepared to agree.”
United are finding it hard to decide on the add-ons structure as further added by Romano.
“But the add-ons structure is a really complicated one. It’s not a few million euros. It’s 20 million in add-ons. They need to decide how to active these add-ons. Easy add-ons, complicated add-ons, in how many years to pay these add-ons.”
Barcelona will have to swiftly conclude this deal if they are to sign any players for themselves. Their deals for Robert Lewandowski, Bernardo Silva, and Raphinha depend upon De Jong’s sale. On the other hand, United are closing in on another signing as Romano reports. The Red Devils have hijacked Lyon’s transfer for Feyenoord left-back Tyrell Malacia. Following the completion of these deals, United will pursue more signings.
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