Four Frenkie de Jong alternatives Man United have been linked to

New United manager Erik ten Hag has made De Jong his main transfer target but, despite an agreement on a £72million fee between United and Barca, De Jong is thought to be reluctant to join the club.

And, with Chelsea poised to make their own bid for the Netherlands international, Ten Hag may decide to turn his attention elsewhere as United look for a transformative signing in midfield.

The Athletic have reported that United are keen on Jude Bellingham of Borussia Dortmund and West Ham’s Declan Rice, but both players are unlikely to be available before the end of August.

With negotiations for De Jong dragging on, we’ve looked at four alternatives that United have been linked to.

United could do a lot worse than sign Neves; the Wolves midfielder has over 140 Premier League appearances and is still, remarkably, just 25.

“He’s come back and is improving, he’s got up to speed with the physicality, he’s box-to-box,” former Wolves striker Chris Iwelumo told Sky Sports News.

“The goals that you see him score, his in-game intelligence as well to manage games and use the ball well, he ticks all the boxes.

“He [scores great goals] time and time again and not only that, he reads the game well, he can tackle. Given the time and a club like United, if that chance presents itself, I don’t think it would be one that he could turn down. He’d be an excellent fit for United.”

With a price tag of around £50million, Neves wouldn’t come cheap, but Sky reporter Melissa Reddy has confirmed he’s a player that is being looked at by the club.

Tielemans has just one year left on his contract and Leicester looked destined to sell this summer rather than losing him for free in 12 months.

But two months of the transfer window have passed with no