Man Utd prepared to make transfer target Frenkie de Jong their highest paid star

Manchester United are interested in Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong - and the Red Devils are willing to pay the midfielder more than the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and David de Gea

Posted Sunday, May 29, 2022 by Dailystar.co.uk

Manchester United are interested in Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong

Manchester United are prepared to make Frenkie de Jong their highest paid star in order to lure him from Barcelona.

New Reds boss Erik ten Hag is desperate to sign his one-time Ajax midfielder, 25, but is struggling without the carrot of Champions League football to offer him. So, instead, United hope to tempt De Jong, 25, into swapping the Nou Camp for Old Trafford - with a whopping weekly salary of £395,000.

That would mean the Dutchman immediately becoming their top earner - in terms of basic wage - eclipsing Spanish stopper David de Gea. The Reds No 1 pockets £375,000 per week, ahead of Jadon Sancho (£350,000), Raphael Varane (£340,000) and Cristiano Ronaldo (£300,000).

As we revealed exclusively last week, the United hierarchy intend to wipe the best part of £80million from their annual wage bill this summer amid a mass exit of unwanted first-team talent. Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Nemanja Matic and Jesse Lingard are leaving on free transfers as they are out of contract.

Meanwhile, United are willing to listen to offers for Anthony Martial, Eric Bailly Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Dean Henderson and Phil Jones.

They are all deemed to surplus to the requirements of incoming Dutch coach Ten Hag as he attempts to revive the fortunes of the fallen Premier League giants.

De Jong has made 90 La Liga appearances since his £70m transfer from Ajax to Barcelona in July 2019, scoring eight times.

But although he still featured for the Catalans after the appointment of Xavi as successor to sacked head coach Ronald Koeman, his time there has not been viewed a success.

When United’s interest first became public knowledge at the start of the month, De Jong responded by stating he only wanted to join a club competing among Europe’s elite next term.

That appeared to kill any chances of him being reunited with Ten Hag, with the Reds finishing sixth in the league - and missing out on Champions League qualification in the process.

However, since then there have been no concrete bids from big hitters elsewhere for the Holland ace, capped 40 times. And United’s refusal to take ‘no’ for answer has impressed De Jong.

That, allied to the new bumper personal terms on the table, means they are again serious contenders to secure one of Ten Hag’s main transfer targets for the 2022-23 campaign.