The Red Devils hierarchy could be on the verge of sealing yet another transfer masterstroke just 12 months after their successful pursuit of England star Jadon Sancho. Manchester United are thought to be at long last nearing an agreement with Barcelona for the move of Netherlands international Frenkie de Jong. The Red Devils interest in De Jong has dominated much of the opening exchanges of the window this summer, with plenty of twist and turns as Barcelona play hard-ball in their stance. The Catalan giants are in a particularly perilous position financially, but for a long time refused to budge on their valuation of their midfielder.
At one stage, Dortmund were holding out for a figure north of £100m before they would even consider letting Sancho return to Manchester just years after signing him themselves from United’s local rivals City. Patient as ever, the Red Devils hierarchy took their time and eventually drove the transfer fee down significantly from that treble-digit request.
By the time Sancho had been finally unveiled as a United player just after Euro 2020, United paid £73m for the talented right-winger. While the jury is still out on whether he has actually come close to justifying that amount after an underwhelming debut campaign, the ability to get the price down that much from the board’s perspective should be commended.