Man Utd ‘offer’ Greenwood and three others in attempt to ‘reduce’ £90m De Jong fee

Mason Greenwood and Antony could swap places with Frenkie de Jong this summer

Man Utd have offered Barcelona up to four players in an effort to bring down their asking price for Frenkie de Jong, according to reports.

The Red Devils have held interest in the Netherlands international for a long time with Erik ten Hag desperate to bring in his compatriot to Old Trafford.

There were rumours last summer that Man Utd had even agreed a fee with Barcelona for De Jong but that the midfielder decided to stay at the Camp Nou.

And now the speculation is starting again with reports that the Dutchman wants to leave the Catalan giants, although there have been suggestions that those reports are ‘wide of the mark’.

Barcelona have apparently put a £85m price tag on De Jong’s head in the summer with the La Liga side willing to part ways due to their financial situation.

And now Spanish publication Nacional insist that Man Utd have ‘offered’ four players in attempt to ‘reduce’ the amount they will have to pay in cash to land De Jong.

Ten Hag has once again ‘insisted on signing’ De Jong  – who he worked with at Ajax – this summer and Man Utd are willing to include ‘up to four players in the operation’.

Mason Greenwood, who is currently on loan in La Liga at Getafe, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Scott McTominay have all been put on table as Man Utd attempt to negotiate with Barcelona.

However, earlier this week, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claimed that Barca will attempt to renew De Jong’s contract instead of selling the 26-year-old.

Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column on De Jong, who has also been linked to Tottenham and Chelsea: “There have been lots of rumours about Frenkie de Jong lately guys, but I can tell you that Barcelona will try to extend his contract in the next months.

“They still believe in Frenkie and there’s no news on the player side so far regarding wanting to leave the club.

“Of course, if both sides can’t agree on a new deal, the situation in the summer could change.

“I’m not hearing anything on decisions made or negotiations ongoing, and I’m not aware of any Tottenham bids so far, despite the stories.”

Former Man Utd defender Mikael Silvestre is worried that a move for De Jong could stall the progress made by youngster Kobbie Mainoo.

Silvestre told bettingexpert.com: “If a player like Frenkie de Jong is available, he should be considered. But again you look at Kobbie and we talked about Scott, and we have Casemiro here.

“Will de Jong be an upgrade? Of course. Ahead of Kobbie but if you want to continue developing Mainoo and give him the time, I don’t think de Jong should come in.

“If you qualify for the Champions League, then signing de Jong makes sense. You have to consider him for sure. He’s a top player but putting him in a midfield where the manager likes to play with two defensive midfielders, if you play with three, it could be a different proposition.

“So the answer is yes, do consider him.”