Man United, Barcelona agree De Jong deal for initial €65m transfer fee - sources

Manchester United have made a breakthrough in their bid to sign Frenkie de Jong, with an initial fee now agreed with Barcelona, sources have told ESPN.

United are set to pay €65 million up front for the midfielder, who is manager Erik ten Hag's top summer target.

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Performance-based add-ons, which could take the cost above €80m, are still to be agreed, as well as the player's personal terms, and sources close to negotiations have told ESPN the deal is not yet done and that there are still «significant» hurdles to overcome.

However, there is now increasing confidence at both Old Trafford and Camp Nou that an agreement can be wrapped up to make De Jong the first signing of Ten Hag's reign at United.

The Netherlands international is Ten Hag's key transfer target. There is hope he could be on the plane when the squad depart for their tour of Thailand and Australia on July 8.

Sources at Barca also acknowledge they are closer to reaching an agreement, but say the final figures are still to be determined, both in terms of the fixed fee and add-ons.

However, there is an acceptance that the total package won't reach the €100m they had initially requested when talks began between the to clubs.

The same sources add that they «don't believe» a potential transfer will be completed by June 30 (Thursday), which is when the club close their accounts for the 2021-22 campaign.

Barca still need to raise money this week to avoid ending the year with losses, but hope to do so through the sale of 10% of their LaLiga