Manchester City Planning Lucrative Exchange Deal To Secure United's Target Frenkie De Jong [Details]

Manchester City are preparing to swoop in at the last minute to sign FC Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong, who has been heavily linked with Manchester United in the underway summer window.

City are planning to offer Bernardo Silva as a part of the deal for De Jong in order to reduce Barcelona's asking price for the Dutchman, reported Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.

It was previously reported that Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez has agreed to part ways with his talented midfielder only if the club brings in an ideal replacement. Xavi has demanded Barcelona to sign either Robert Lewandowski or Silva and this could work well in City's favor.

Barcelona and Manchester United are in "final negotiations" in the case of De Jong's transfer, according to Sports Witness.

The Camp Nou side are not budging with their asking price of $104 million for De Jong but Manchester United are not willing to pay more than $83 million, including the initial fee and add-ons. In addition, the Old Trafford side has threatened to end negotiations if they can't reach an agreement that suits all parties involved and has made it clear they will not pay anything near $104 million, according to The SPORT.

This is contradicting a recent report that suggested Barcelona had finally agreed to reduce De Jong's price.

In the summer of 2019, Barcelona defeated the likes of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Manchester City and United in the race to sign De Jong from Ajax. The Catalans had paid around $78 million to secure the Dutch midfielder, who has been a regular at Barcelona since then.

A move to Manchester United would see De Jong reunite with his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag, who has begun his stint as the Red Devils' head coach.

De Jong, who is contracted with Barcelona until 2026, netted four goals and six assists in 46 appearances for the Catalans last season in all competitions. In three full seasons at Barca, De Jong has clocked 140 appearances, scoring 13 goals and providing 17 assists.