Manchester United report: Red Devils refusing to give up on Frenkie de Jong for one reason

Manchester United are not ready to admit defeat in their prolonged pursuit of Frenkie de Jong, according to reports.

The Red Devils have been attempting to sign the Netherlands international for most of the summer.

Erik ten Hag has made De Jong, with whom he worked at Ajax, his top transfer target but progress has been painfully slow.

It was reported last month that United had agreed an initial fee of around £63m with Barcelona for the transfer of the midfielder.

Joan Laporta, the president of the Catalan club, recently stated that they have not actually accepted any bids for De Jong.

However, the main sticking point is De Jong's lack of interest in moving to Old Trafford.

He wants to stay at the Camp Nou and fight for his place in Xavi Hernandez's team, while the fact Barcelona owe him £14m in deferred salary payments complicates the situation further.

Yet despite the difficulty in agreeing a deal, United are not yet ready to turn their attention to alternatives.

According to Give Me Sport, they are still confident that they can sign De Jong before the transfer window closes at the beginning of September.

That is primarily because of Barcelona's financial predicament, which requires them to raise funds in order to balance the books.

De Jong is perhaps the only player that the Blaugrana are willing to sell who would also generate a substantial sum in the market.

United are hoping that De Jong will ultimately be forced out, and there does not appear to be much competition for his signature as things stand.

Even so, the noises coming out of Spain do not suggest De Jong is on his way to Manchester any time soon.

Cadena Ser writes that the Dutchman has told his Barcelona team-mates that he is not going anywhere and will still be a part of Xavi's squad when the window closes.