Manchester United are 'not giving up' on signing Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong this summer but are keeping alternatives 'warm', according to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth.
The lowdown: Transfer saga
Perennially linked with a move to the Red Devils throughout the transfer window, the attempt to bring De Jong to Old Trafford remains up in the air as the new season fast approaches.
Despite reportedly agreeing on an initial €75million (£63million) fee with the La Liga giants for the 25-year-old Holland international a fortnight ago, disputes over unpaid wages and an apparent lack of desire to head to Manchester mean that the deal is no further down the line.
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Having seemingly reached an impasse and with Chelsea also entering the fray, fresh claims have now emerged suggesting that United remain steadfast in their attempts to bring De Jong to the club...
The latest: Sheth shares De Jong update...
Speaking to Sky Sports (via Football Daily on Twitter), Sheth shared the latest state of play regarding the 44-cap star.
He said: “This is definitely the saga of the window as far as Manchester United are concerned, but, the information that I'm getting this morning is that Manchester United are not giving up on the signing of the Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
“There remains a belief that a deal can still be done between the two clubs. We've been saying this for the past few weeks, United remain comfortable in the position that they're in. They have a broad agreement with Barcelona worth £72million - that's including add-ons for Frenkie De Jong.
“United you'd think would have their own private deadline on getting this deal done and so they do have other targets. I'm told today that they are keeping those other targets warm, that was the phrase that I was given, but they still maintain that a deal can be done for Frenkie de Jong.”
The verdict: Something has to give
A little over a week out from United's opening Premier League clash with Brighton at Old Trafford, that FDJ deadline cannot be too far away from being reached and seeing Erik ten Hag finally give up on a reunion with his former Ajax sensation.
Whilst much of the groundwork has clearly already been laid in order to bring the Dutchman to the club, another midfielder is an essential addition in this window having lost Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba and Juan Mata and as such, missing out on De Jong without an alternative in place cannot be an option for John Murtough and co.
Therefore, although the confidence in getting this deal over the line clearly remains high, movement on other targets such as Leicester City ace Youri Tielemans could well ramp up in the coming days.