Man Utd: Ten Hag move for £72.5m star now 'feasible' at Old Trafford

New Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag ‘wants to pair’ Frenkie de Jong with Donny van de Beek at Old Trafford, according to journalist Dean Jones.

The Barcelona midfielder has been heavily linked with a move to the Red Devils in recent weeks and could be reunited with his former Ajax colleagues this summer.

According to well-respected reporter and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, United ‘have opened direct talks’ with Barca over a potential move for the 25-year-old.

It’s claimed that the Catalan giants have placed a €85 million (£72.5m) price tag on De Jong and are anticipating an opening offer to arrive from the 20-time English champions.

However, the Netherlands international is not convinced about a move to United and would prefer to stay at Camp Nou, partially because Champions League football is on offer there once again.

“I prefer to stay with Barcelona,” De Jong told ESPN’s Pascal Kamperman in a recent interview. “Barcelona is just my dream club.

“Also, from a young age, I just said it too, I’ve never regretted my choice despite the fact that I had hoped for more in terms of prizes than I’ve achieved so far.”

With Barcelona’s desperate financial situation, though, De Jong could be offloaded to help balance the books, and with Franck Kessie arriving from AC Milan, Jones believes it is ‘feasible’ that the Blaugrana will look to cash in.

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He told GiveMeSport: “Ten Hag wants to pair Frenkie with Donny in midfield, and Man United like the idea of it too – so this story does have legs.

“It will be a massive decision for the player to move from Barcelona, but with Kessie arriving soon, it really is starting