Barca Confirm Swap Deal Option As Man Utd Finally Make De Jong Transfer Breakthrough

Barcelona has confirmed a swap deal option as Man Utd finally make De Jong transfer breakthrough.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that Manchester United have finally made a breakthrough in their attempts to sign Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona this summer with the Catalan giants signalling they already have a replacement lined up.

United have not given up hope on a deal to land the Dutch international star despite negotiations over the structure of a deal now entering their third month and with the commencement of the 2022/23 campaign less than a week away.

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Red Devils transfer chiefs Richard Arnold and John Murtough visited the Catalan capital last month to meet with Barca officials and conclude the De Jong transfer but left without a final agreement in place. However, an initial fee of £56.2million is in place with a total transfer increasing up to £72million.

Barca president Joan Laporta has now confirmed that the club will attempt to sign Manchester City star Bernardo Silva after a report in Mundo Deportivo outlined how he was at the top of the club’s wish list to replace De Jong.

Despite often operating in a front three for City, the Portugal international could theoretically replace the former Ajax star in the club’s midfield.

Laporta said on Monday at the presentation of defender Jules Kounde – signed from Sevilla – when asked specifically about a move for Silva: “First we have to register the players and get rid of those who don’t count.

Then we’ll see what we can do.” It was not the outright denial of a move that could have been said to pour cold water on any rumours.

Joan Laporta has previously insisted the midfielder is not for sale, but Barcelona face a race to register their new signings.

That stance belies the situation Barcelona currently find themselves in. Despite signing Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde, they are currently unable to register any of them to play in the upcoming season due to La Liga’s strict salary cap rules.

Barca are now likely to offload De Jong in order to get those new arrivals registered, while more signings are likely to follow. During the presentation of Kounde on Monday, Laporta suggested the situation could soon be resolved.

“We are doing everything possible to register the signings. We have to do it before August 13,” Laporta told reporters. He also suggested he was “optimistic” the issue would be resolved but did add a note of caution by saying: “Let’s hope that the league sees it that way too.”

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The deal could also have a knock-on effect for United’s pursuit of De Jong, as well as Barca’s attempts to bring in yet more signings before the end of the transfer window. The Catalan club will need to get their new signings registered before they face Rayo Vallecano in their La Liga opener on August 13.

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