Frenkie De Jong ‘DOESN’T want to sign for Man United and prefers Bayern Munich or Chelsea’

Frenkie de Jong has no interest in joining Manchester United because he dislikes the city and believes the club is run erratically, a new report in Spain has claimed.

United reached a £71.5million agreement with Barcelona but issues surrounding a sum of £17m in deferred wages and bonuses owed to the midfielder has stalled any move. 

Now, Spanish outlet Sport has claimed that De Jong has absolutely no interest in heading to Old Trafford this summer and would rather head to Chelsea should he be pushed out of Barcelona for a move to the Premier League.   

De Jong does not want to leave Barcelona but the Catalan giants need to shift him from the wage bill in order to register their new signings – which include Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen – with LaLiga.

Frenkie de Jong (left) reportedly has no interest in joining Erik ten Hag (right) at Man United

Barcelona has made no secret of shopping De Jong around and he has been Manchester United’s top target all summer, with club chiefs Richard Arnold and John Murtough recently spotted in the Spanish city trying to thrash out a deal.

But Sport’s report claims that the player has zero interest in making the move to Manchester, a city he is not a fan of. 

He is also said to hold real concerns over how United function, with the player’s view said to be that it is run ‘erratically’ by management. 

A third factor working against United is that they cannot offer him Champions League football next season having only managed to secure Europa League football prior to Ten Hag’s arrival.  

The Dutch midfielder is being shopped by Barcelona as they need to reduce their wage bill

De Jong, and fiancee Mikky Kiemeney, are said to have reservations about a Manchester move

While there is a reluctance from De Jong to accept being pushed out of Barcelona, his dream club, it has been reported that it would be Chelsea, not Manchester United, that would be his pick in England. 

He is ‘not closed’ to the idea of a switch to Stamford Bridge given Chelsea do boast Champions League football and De Jong is said to appreciate the ‘project’ and ‘structure’ that is being built under new controlling owner Todd Boehly.  

London is also viewed as a ‘very attractive city’ to live in for De Jong and his fiancee Mikky Kiemeney.

Bayern Munich is another landing spot that would appeal to De Jong, it is claimed. His former team-mate and close friend Matthijs de Ligt has just joined the Bundesliga outfit on a deal until 2027.

De Jong is said to prefer the idea of working with Julian Nagelsmann (left) at Bayern Munich or Thomas Tuchel (right) at Chelsea as both of those clubs can offer Champions League football

De Jong’s stand-off over the owed wages and bonuses mean that he remains a Barcelona player and he is with the first team group in the United States for their pre-season tour.

He came off the bench in the 6-0 win over Inter Miami, slotting in at centre back, which may be a sign that his chances in midfield will be limited should he dig in to stay beyond the end of the transfer window. 

However, it appears of real importance for Barcelona that they are able to move De Jong, 25, on.  

The Catalan club have now presented five new players, and want to bring in Cesar Azpilicueta from Chelsea to bolster their defensive options. But they need to satisfy LaLiga’s financial fairplay rules to be able to register their new stars.

Danish defender Christensen, Ivory Coast midfielder Kessie, out of contract Ousmane Dembele, former Leeds winger Raphinha and Lewandowski have all been presented. 

De Jong is determined to stay at Barcelona but faces a fight ahead of the window closing

Sportsmail reported last week that United won’t give up the chase for the 25-year-old midfielder, even if it takes until after the new season starts. The transfer window closes on September 1.

United accept there may come a point when they will have to accept defeat over signing De Jong and have a number of alternatives in mind, including Ruben Neves of Wolves. 

Wolves are willing to sell the Portugal midfielder this summer, as he has two years left on his contract and is unlikely to sign a new one as things stand.

New United manager Ten Hag has made it clear that former Ajax player De Jong is central to his plans so United will make every attempt to get the deal done.