Manchester United Reject Coutinho, Instead Want To Sign Barcelona's $102M Superstar: Reports

Manchester United are reportedly interested in signing FC Barcelona superstar Frenkie de Jong next summer.

The Red Devils are willing to pay $62 million for De Jong, a figure that Barcelona do not even consider accepting, reported Catalan publication El Nacional.

Barcelona signed De Jong at $97 million from Ajax in the summer of 2019 and the player is contracted with the Camp Nou side until 2026. Since then, De Jong has established himself as a key figure at Barcelona, even though he has won only one trophy with the Spanish club – Copa del Rey in 2020-21.

De Jong, whose current market value is around $102 million, is the most valued player at present in La Liga, according to Transfermarkt.

It has been reported that Barcelona, in massive debt of around $1.3 billion, are looking to raise funds and could consider parting ways with De Jong for the same. It is understood that head coach Xavi Hernandez rates upcoming midfielders Pedri and Gavi highly and believes they can fill in any gap created by De Jong's departure.

When Barcelona’s officials recently traveled to the U.K. to discuss a potential transfer for Manchester City’s Ferran Torres, club president Joan Laporte is said to have also met with Manchester United bosses.

Barcelona are interested in securing the Red Devils forward Edinson Cavani, who wants to leave Old Trafford for more game time. During this discussion, Barcelona’s officials offered Manchester United a chance to sign Philippe Coutinho. However, the Old Trafford side rejected that offer and instead enquired about de Jong, according to the same El Nacional report.

Meanwhile, it has also been reported that even Manchester City have demanded Barcelona to include De Jong as part of a swap deal that could see either City’s Torres or Raheem Sterling move to Camp Nou.

Barcelona are hopeful of securing Cavani on a free transfer in the 2022 summer. Considering their financial situation, the Catalan club is focusing more on possible free transfers. It has also been reported that The Blaugrana are in advance talks with Chelsea right-back Cesar Azpilicueta, whose contract with the Blues is due to expire at the end of the 2021-22 campaign.