Frenkie De Jong transfer to Manchester United held up by £17m deferred wage debt

Manchester United’s protracted pursuit of Frenkie de Jong is being held up by money owed to the Netherlands midfielder by Barcelona in wages he agreed to defer due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite Barcelona president Joan Laporta’s claims that De Jong is not for sale, United reached a broad agreement with the Catalan club last week over a fee for the Dutchman that would see them pay an initial €65 million (£55m) with around a further €20m (£17m) payable in add-ons.

However, United’s hopes of wrapping up a deal in time for De Jong to join the start of their summer tour have been complicated by deferred wages and bonuses the player is owed from Barcelona after he agreed to take a temporary pay cut to help ease the club’s financial difficulties during the Covid crisis.

De Jong joined Barcelona from Ajax on a five-year contract in 2019 on a fixed annual salary worth £12m but he agreed to reduce his salary by £9.4m in 2020/21 and by £4.3m last season meaning he is owed £13.7m in basic wages.

He is also believed to be owed another £3.4m in waived bonuses for playing in at least 60 per cent of Barcelona’s matches over the previous two seasons.

De Jong extended his contract at the Nou Camp by a further two years to 2026, which allowed Barcelona to spread the deferred payments over a longer period.

But De Jong’s prospective move to Old Trafford means Barcelona face the prospect of having to foot a bill in excess of £17m in wages owed to the player and has left new United manager Erik ten Hag facing an agonising wait to land his priority summer transfer target.

United are due to fly to Bangkok on Friday afternoon for the start of their pre-season tour but Tyrell Malacia, the Netherlands left back signed from Feyenoord for an initial £12.9m this week, could be the only new signing on the plane.

Free agent Christian Eriksen has agreed to join United on a three-year deal but the Denmark playmaker - who suffered a cardiac arrest at the Euros last summer - still needs to undergo a stringent medical before a deal can be finalised and faces a race to be involved in the Thailand leg of the tour. United are due to play Liverpool in Bangkok on Tuesday before flying to Melbourne and then later Perth.

United are hoping to reach a compromise with Ajax for Lisandro Martinez after having a £35m bid knocked back last week for the Argentina defender, who is also wanted by Arsenal and valued at around £45m.

But Martinez’s Ajax team-mate, Antony, fears he could be priced out of a move to Old Trafford with the Dutch club - who are eager to retain the Brazil forward for another season - holding out for almost £70 million, substantially more than United are prepared to pay.

There is thought to be some scepticism at Old Trafford that a deal for Antony is viable as things stand although the focus for the moment has been on beating Arsenal to Martinez, who, at just 5ft 9in tall, is very small for a centre-half, especially in the Premier League.

United’s squad were given a day off by Ten Hag on Wednesday. Old Trafford officials are still in the dark over whether Ronaldo - who wants to leave United this summer - will be on the flight to Bangkok after being granted extended leave for “family reasons”.

In a bizarre incident on Wednesday, United captain Harry Maguire appeared to “like” a post on Instagram which repeated a story that one of the reasons Ronaldo was unhappy at Old Trafford was due to having to take a pay cut following the club’s failure to qualify for the Champions League.

Tensions surfaced between Maguire and Ronaldo last season but sources at the club said the story had been “liked” purely by accident and that the England defender had no idea he had done it and subsequently deleted it.

Meanwhile, Jesse Lingard, who left United as a free agent last month and is being chased by Premier League clubs including West Ham and Everton, is set to travel to the United States to listen to pitches from Major League Soccer teams interested in signing the England forward.

Another player who left United as a free agent last month, Paul Pogba, has agreed a four-year deal with Juventus.