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Frenkie de Jong during the UEFA Europa League match between Napoli and Barcelona at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, Naples, February 2022.

Watch: Fabrizio Romano provides key update on De Jong and Martinez

Manchester United have been heavily linked with Frenkie de Jong and Lisandro Martinez throughout the transfer window – and Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on those moves. 

United and Barcelona have reportedly agreed on a deal for De Jong that will see the Red Devils pay an overall total of €85million.

But there have been some reports in Spain that suggest that the Netherlands international doesn’t want to join United this summer.

“It’s not that he doesn’t want to go to Manchester United, it’s different,” Romano said. “It’s that Frenkie wants to stay at Barcelona. He loves the city, he loves the club, he loves everything in Barcelona.

“The reality is he wants to continue at Barca. He dreams of Barcelona as the club for his future so this is the priority for the player.

“But as we know in football and the transfer market, things can change because of many factors and one of these factors could be Barcelona’s financial situation.

“If they will not be able to afford this salary, it’s likely that Barcelona will tell Frenkie that they need to find a solution to reduce his salary or to go. This is the potential way that Manchester United are waiting. This is why Manchester United are still there.”

United manager Erik ten Hag is also looking to add Martinez to his squad but Ajax rejected their €50million bid for the defender.

“They [Ajax] really want to keep the player because they need to protect the new manager who is not as strong as Erik ten Hag has been for many years so they want to make sure he has a very good team,” Romano added.

“Also, they feel that after the World Cup the value of Lisandro Martinez could be around 70million, 80million or 90million.

“But they know the player’s idea is to join Premier League football this summer. Arsenal are still there, Arsenal are still trying and Mikel Arteta is a big fan but Man Utd are absolutely leading the race, also thanks to Erik ten Hag.

“Of course, the connection is really strong. Ten Hag wants him, the player knows that Man United are trying in every way to find a way with Ajax so Lisandro will push with Ajax to leave immediately.”

Watch the full video below as Romano also offers updates on Antony, Cristiano Ronaldo and Youri Tielemans.


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