While they wait for their first signing, neither Barcelona nor Ajax are letting Manchester United advance at full speed.
PLAYING HARDBALL ON DE JONG, BARCA
What occurs when an immovable item comes into contact with an unstoppable force? Who knows, but it doesn’t matter because Barcelona and Manchester United aren’t even close to fitting either of those categories.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the two clubs have been in “direct touch” with Frenkie de Jong, but they are unable to agree on a price since Barcelona are adamant that they will not sell for less than €86 million, or around £74 million. It seems like they should have tried that earlier. Manchester United would argue that because Barcelona is the only real bidder for the Dutchman and needs the money, negotiations are at a standstill.
For Frenkie de Jong, direct communication has taken place today between Manchester United and Barcelona. Barça informed Man Utd that they won’t sell FdJ for less than €86m, therefore there is still no agreement on the price. 🚨🇳🇱 #MU FC Due to La Liga’s investment restrictions, Barcelona wants a full payment guarantee. pic.twitter.com/n6WBFk5Uxy June 21, 2022 — Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano)
AJAX IS NOT PLAYING BALL OF ANY KIND.
According to the Mirror, “Ajax will not permit Erik ten Hag’s attempt to resurrect Manchester United lead to a mass departure of the players he left behind in Amsterdam.” Unless United give Ajax an offer that is simply too good to refuse, they claim that Ten Hag may have to choose between Lisandro Martinez and Antony. That offer would presumably be “all of the money.”
Any bid would need to be higher than the £30 million Martinez received from Arsenal, which means Ajax would have to accept something north of that (some reports stated £35 million), while Brazilian winger Antony is worth more than £50 million. Therefore, any offer for the two would likely need to be higher than £85 million, which is a substantial lot of money for United if they eventually give in on De Jong.
MONACO TO MINAMINO
Takumi Minamino is expected to sign with Monaco for an initial fee of £13 million, which may increase to £15.5 million with various add-ons, putting Liverpool on track to recoup the cost of the three players they brought in this summer. Although they got slightly less money than they wanted for the Japanese striker, who also had Leeds and Southampton interested, they still made a profit of two times what they invested.
Wednesday should see Liverpool complete the sale of Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich for £32.5m but it is now thought that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will stay at the club. They will be hoping to hear from clubs that were promoted from the Championship about offers for Neco Williams and Nat Phillips.
