Manchester United ready to offer €55 million for Barcelona midfielder | OneFootball

Barcelona have been in constant dialogue with Manchester City of late as they look to secure the signing of Ferran Torres in the January transfer window.

However, it turns out that they are also holding a dialogue with the Citizens’ local rivals, Manchester United, over potential deals involving multiple players.

El Nacional is reporting that Barcelona, in an attempt to offload Philippe Coutinho from the club, have offered him to the Red Devils. The Brazilian playmaker is not a major part of the plans under new boss Xavi Hernandez, and the Catalans are keen on getting his massive wages off the books.

However, Barca’s attempts to ship him off to Manchester United have proved futile as the 20-time English champions have swiftly rejected the proposal to sign the ex-Liverpool star.

In addition to that, the Blaugrana were also negotiating with the Premier League giants over the possibility of signing Edinson Cavani in the January window. However, those plans seem to have been shelved for now as Xavi is not keen on signing the Uruguayan international.

During these discussions, another name is believed to have come up – that of Barcelona midfield mainstay, Frenkie de Jong. The report claims that Manchester United’s interim manager Ralf Rangnick has requested the signing of the 24-year-old as he appreciates the Dutchman’s all-around abilities.

To that end, the Red Devils are willing to shell out a sum of €55 million for the Netherlands international. However, Barca have dismissed the possibility of accepting such a low sum for their star man, for whom they shelled out €86 million just a few years ago.

De Jong, who is valued at €90 million by Transfermarkt, is seen as a key member of the project by Xavi. However, due to the club’s current financial predicament, they would be forced to study any offers that may come in for him. But, the Catalans will not entertain anything less than €70 million for the midfielder, the report adds.

Whether Manchester United are willing to up their offer for the former AFC Ajax star remains to be seen.