Ready for your near daily Frenkie de Jong will or won’t he leave FC Barcelona and join Manchester United update? Feel this transfer saga isn’t protracted enough and needs yet another plot twist? Well then, you’re in luck as the transfer narrative that just won’t end took another turn today, and it’s one that isn’t in the favor of Old Trafford.
De Jong still remains a Barcelona player, as the club still owes him 17 million Euro in back pay, and he’ll join the club on their preseason tour of the United States.
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US Summer Tour ?? pic.twitter.com/r14Zgeuf89— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 16, 2022
As you can see above, De Jong is on the list of players that flew out to the Unites States of America on Saturday. They’ll land in Miami where they will face MLS side Inter Miami in the first of their friendlies in the US later this month.
They’ll also take on arch-rivals Real Madrid (at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas), Juventus (at the very historic Cotton Bowl in Dallas) and New York Red Bulls (at Red Bull Arena) in friendlies later on this month.
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— ??BLACK CHOCO?? (@Raee_Mond) July 15, 2022
As was reported on Thursday, United and Barca have reached an agreement on a transfer fee, believed to be in the neighborhood of around €65 million for the holding midfielder.
It’s a narrative that we have heard before.
However, personal terms for the player have not been met, as the Catalan club’s financial issues, i.e. they still owe the young Dutchman a large some of outstanding wages, is holding this deal up, big time.
De Jong is the Erik ten Hag’s number one transfer target, as the United manager hopes to foster an Ajax reunion.
It would be nice to see closure on all this soon, as it’s dragged out plenty long enough already.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.