Liverpool not 'actively pursuing' £68m star at Anfield

Liverpool are not ‘actively pursuing’ Barcelona midfielder and one-time Manchester United target Frenkie de Jong at this moment in time, according to CBS reporter Ben Jacobs.

Jurgen Klopp recently admitted that he is in the market for engine room reinforcements following a disappointing start to the season, but it doesn’t seem as though the 25-year-old is on his radar.

United appeared to be close to signing De Jong earlier in the window after The Athletic’s David Ornstein revealed they had agreed a £68 million deal with Barca for his services.

However, the Netherlands international has publicly expressed his love for the Catalan giants, and a dispute over £17m worth of deferred wages caused the deal to stall and ultimately collapse.

Ornstein then claimed that Chelsea were ‘optimistic of striking a deal’ for De Jong after entering the race for his signature, although they also failed to make any significant progress.

And Spanish sources have now stated that Liverpool are weighing up an ambitious move for the technician.

In an interview with GiveMeSport, Jacobs said: “Talking to Barcelona sources, there doesn’t appear to be anything in this.

“And it is now being made clear by a lot of suitors that I’m speaking to, whether historical ones or active ones that have looked at De Jong, that he’s just not going to leave, which is in fairness to him, what he said or window.

“Now, the manner in which he stays, whether that is just staying, whether that’s a pay cut, whether that’s somewhere in the middle, not the pay cut that Barcelona want, but some kind of reduction, whether that’s pay cut, but deferred wages paid first; there’s lots of different kinds of scenarios.

“And we wait and see whether that is done before the window,