Barcelona's latest Frenkie de Jong to Man Utd transfer update explains star's 'disgust'

Forget Cristiano Ronaldo and his efforts to leave Old Trafford.

Only one saga can claim to have defined this year's summer transfer window: the one which has embroiled Manchester United, Barcelona and Frenkie de Jong for weeks on end. What started as Erik ten Hag's honest attempt to sign his former Ajax colleague and make him United's midfield lynchpin has turned into a nightmare for the player concerned.

With an agreement finally reached between United and Barca, De Jong is faced with Camp Nou exile if he fails to consent to the Premier League switch, which would necessitate him leaving his "dream" club. The Netherlands international, 25, is disgusted by the way he has been treated by Blaugrana chiefs - and it is not hard to see why.

Talks between Barcelona and the Red Devils begin on 1 June as Ten Hag, newly installed in the latter dugout, sought a marquee midfield addition. Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard departed this summer at the expiry of their contracts, so the need for recruitment in the centre of the park was pressing.

Who better for Ten Hag to target than De Jong, who excelled under him at Ajax - winning the league-cup double in the 2018/19 season - and has continued to perform week in, week out during his three years in Spain. Initially, the two clubs were at an impasse over the transfer fee and United saw a bid of £54million plus add-ons turned down in mid-June.

Barcelona were understandably loath to make a loss on De Jong, having stumped up £65million to sign him from the Amsterdam club, so it was clear the Red Devils would need to up their bid. Undeterred by this first rejection, Ten Hag began planning for the future and held a phone call with his compatriot to inform him of