Manchester United target Frenkie de Jong is reluctant to accept a pay cut at Barcelona, Fabrizio Romano has told GiveMeSport.

The lowdown

The Netherlands international has reportedly been Erik ten Hag's top target at Old Trafford since early June, but the Red Devils still haven't made a breakthrough in their pursuit of the 25-year-old.

However, Barcelona are under financial pressure, with president Joan Laporta insisting that he would 'do everything' in his power to keep De Jong but admitting that 'there's also a salary issue and that would have to be adjusted'.

It has been claimed that the midfielder is currently earning as much as £354,000 per week at Camp Nou.

The latest

Romano admitted that he was slightly baffled by the De Jong situation, which he described as "peculiar", with Laporta forced to walk something of a tightrope. As it stands, the player has not shown a willingness to accept reduced terms in order to stay with the Blaugrana.

The transfer guru told GiveMeSport: "For Frenkie de Jong, I think the situation is a peculiar one. The president of Barcelona, Laporta, has said that he will try to keep the player, but he wants Frenkie to reduce his salary.

"From what I'm told, Frenkie is not reducing his salary. At the moment, this is not the case."

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The verdict

This may be music to ears of Ten Hag and Manchester United, as Barcelona might simply be forced to offload De Jong if he is costing them too much money. After all, they're grappling with £1bn debts and 'strict controls on recruitment and expenditure'.

In theory, they may not only agree to sell to United, but also on favourable terms.

There will be a feeling of relief if they manage to get this one over the line, with the pursuit already billed as a 'saga'.

It would also mean that United can focus their full attention on other key targets ahead of Ten Hag's first season in charge at Old Trafford.