Manchester United budget plans revealed as officialls travel to Barcelona for negotiations
Man Utd targets Frenkie de Jong and Ronald Araujo
Frenkie de Jong and Ronald Araujo have been linked with a move to Old Trafford.
Man Utd officials are set to travel to Barcelona in an effort to progress talks to sign Frenkie de Jong and Ronald Araujo this summer, according to reports.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s deal to buy 25 per cent of the club has been approved by the Premier League with the British billionaire now just waiting for the Football Assocation to sign off the takeover.
Once completed, Ratcliffe will take charge of footballing matters from the Glazer family with the INEOS founder looking to appoint a new director of football, overhaul the recruitment department and improve the club’s infrastructure.
Man Utd did not spend any money in the January transfer window as they instead looked to move players out on loan to ease the club’s wage budget.
But it is expected that Ratcliffe and his INEOS team will look to bring in a number of key players to help Erik ten Hag in the summer transfer window after the Dutchman’s side have hit a good run of form.
One player Ten Hag has been desperate to bring in during his tenure at Old Trafford is compatriot De Jong from Barcelona with Spanish publication Nacional insisting Man Utd are attempting to bring the Netherlands international and his team-mate Araujo to Manchester.
The report claims Ratcliffe will allow Man Utd to spend around €300m (£256m) to invest in new signings with Barcelona duo De Jong and Araujo their ‘first two objectives’.
Man Utd ‘want to take advantage’ of the Catalan giants’ poor financial situation to prise away their two biggest stars and some ’emissaries’ from Old Trafford ‘plan to travel to Barcelona this month to meet personally with Joan Laporta and Deco, and begin talks with the aim of signing these two stars’.
The Red Devils see De Jong as the ‘priority’ target out of the two and the Netherlands international ‘will be offered an incredible salary’ with the Premier League outfit to take ‘advantage of the fact that the talks to renew with Barça are paralysed’.
Araujo’s contract will also expire in 2026 in an ‘identical case’ to De Jong’s with the Uruguayan demanding ‘a much higher salary’ to commit his future to Barcelona.
Ratcliffe and Man Utd are hoping ‘to be able to convince’ De Jong and Araujo ‘to become the leaders of the new project’ with the Red Devils willing to pay up to €200m (£
170m) for the Barca duo.
Michael Owen has been speaking about Manchester United following their win over Aston Villa
TV pundit Michael Owen
Michael Owen chatted about Manchester United star Scott McTominay
Michael Owen has called for Scott McTominay to be given a more regular role in Manchester United’s side after his latest match-winner against Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.
McTominay netted in the 86th-minute at Villa Park as United made it three straight victories in the Premier League to boost their Champions League qualification hopes. The 27-year-old was similarly heroic in the wins against Brentford and Chelsea earlier in the campaign and has scored seven goals in 21 top-flight games.
The midfielder was made available for transfer last summer, but a move did not materialise, while former players, including Paul Scholes, have not always been glowing about the Academy graduate. Owen, though, reckons United can only “ignore” McTominay and his worth for so long.
Problems in the engine room at United have been well documented since before Casemiro was signed and youngster Kobbie Mainoo burst on to the scene, with McTominay and long-term partner Fred often picked apart by Scholes and other TV pundits for their performances in previous years.
Assessing the 41-cap international last season, Scholes told Sky Sports: “McTominay was always trying to run with the ball, which was ridiculous. The quality in the middle of the pitch was nowhere near good enough, but we’ve seen that for the last few years with these two [McTominay and Fred].”
Scholes softened his stance on the Academy graduate in the following months, but his one-time teammate Owen has gone one step further. Speaking about McTominay after Sunday afternoon’s result and impact, he told Premier League Productions that the Scotland international could be “absolutely anything” for Erik ten Hag’s side.
“He has got attributes that you can’t really teach,” commented Owen.
“His fitness levels, his size, his strength and the way he marauds forward. It’s a fascinating conundrum because he has almost burst into my mind now and I’m thinking; ‘Wow, you have to find a place for this type of player’. I never had him down by this type of player before, this real marauding midfielder.”
Owen then added: “With his size and knack of scoring goals, you can only ignore that for so long. Okay, so he might not get ahead of Bruno [Casemiro] or Casemiro, at the moment, but if he keeps on doing what he’s doing then you are going to have to find a role in the team. If he keeps improving, then he can be absolutely anything.”
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