Man Utd will have to take Frenkie De Jong down £65m to demand the price if they want to sign the Barcelona star this summer

MANCHESTER UNITED will have to lower Barcelona’s £65m asking price if they want to sign Frenkie de Jong this summer.

The former Ajax midfielder is at the top of new Old Trafford boss Erik ten Hag’s wanted list.

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But the Dutchman will have a limited budget to work with when he officially starts work next week as he failed to reach the Champions League.

And there are several areas he wants to strengthen this summer – so he doesn’t want to mess things up with a big signing.

Barca are cash-strapped and are keen to get back the around £65.3m fee they paid for De Jong when he joined them in January 2019.

And so far, the two parties have yet to find a middle ground – so an agreement is a long way off.

De Jong, 25, would prefer to stay at the Nou Camp or join a club playing in the Champions League next season.

However, Ten Hag hopes their relationship from their Ajax days could help persuade him to move to Manchester.

The new boss wants at least one central midfielder, or possibly two – with Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic leaving United this summer.

But he would also like to add a centre-forward to replace the outgoing Edinson Cavani, while ideally wanting to have a centre-forward as well.

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Barcelona are aware of United’s interest in signing De Jong but are unsure if he will benefit from his services.

President Joan Laporta recently told Catalunya Radio: “There are Barca players that are always talked about in the market.

“I don’t know if we will sell important players. If we get some deals done, maybe it won’t be necessary.”

“Our financial situation has priority from now on. We will do our best for the club.”

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