Man Utd and Chelsea to learn Frenkie de Jong transfer fate ‘this week’ as deadline nears | Football | Sport
Other stars are being asked to reduce their salaries so that Barca can fall in line with tough restrictions imposed by La Liga. Gerard Pique is believed to have agreed to a new deal, while striker Martin Braithwaite was booed on Sunday following reports from favourable Spanish media that he had turned down a departure that would have helped the club ease their financial issues.
Meanwhile, United’s reported pursuits of Adrien Rabiot and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic suggest they might now be looking at alternatives to De Jong. The Red Devils are desperate to strengthen Ten Hag’s squad following Sunday’s 2-1 defeat by Brighton, and appear set to ditch their pursuit of their No 1 transfer target.
That would give Chelsea a free run at the 25-year-old. Thomas Tuchel wants to strengthen his squad to ensure they keep the pace with Manchester City and Liverpool, and is targeting a younger midfielder given his ageing options.
