Manchester United get Frenkie de Jong boost as club told to hijack Chelsea offer

These are your Manchester United morning headlines for Thursday, August 11.

Manchester United have received a boost regarding their pursuit of Frenkie de Jong after more Barcelona players have agreed to take wage deferrals.

United, De Jong and Barcelona have been locked in negotiations for months as Erik ten Hag looks to try and reunite with his former Ajax player at Old Trafford. The two clubs agreed terms for the midfielder nearly a month ago now, but since then little progress has been made following a legal complication surrounding money allegedly owed to the Dutch player from the Spanish club.

After the MEN broke the news that United and Juventus agreed a fee in principle for the transfer of Adrien Rabiot, it appeared that the club had begun to look at alternative options for De Jong. However, it is believed that the Reds are still very much interested in pursuing a deal for the 25-year-old and that the club are considering other options just in case the deal cannot be done.

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The market for a prolific centre-forward is obviously competitive and Manchester United might have to get creative.

Sasa Kalajdzic, for example, is not the profile of a player usually linked with a move to Old Trafford, but his credentials are better than most available. Ironically, Kalajdzic is the type of player that Ralf Rangnick would target. Kalajdzic, 25, has entered the final year of his contract at VfB Stuttgart in Germany and he has been linked with a move to United, Chelsea and Everton this summer for a fee of around £20m.

United have been told they need to beat Chelsea to his signature if they are serious about their aspirations this season.

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