Selling 25-year-old midfielder is no longer a priority for Barcelona

As reported by Cadena SER, Barcelona are no longer prioritising the sale of midfielder Frenkie de Jong following the assembly vote to trigger the economic levers proposed by Joan Laporta.

De Jong’s future has been the centre of major transfer speculation over the past month or so. The 25-year-old has emerged as a priority transfer target for Manchester United following their appointment of former AFC Ajax head coach Erik ten Hag as the new manager.

The Dutch tactician is intent on reuniting with his former Ajax protege at Old Trafford. And up until now, Barça were happy to go ahead with the sale due to the club’s dire financial situation.

Indeed, the Netherlands international was seen as the Blaugrana’s most sellable asset and the club were open to the prospect of showing him the exit doors for a significant fee in the range of €80 million.

Talks with Manchester United were believed to be ongoing and the midfielder himself was said to have green-lighted the move after having been reluctant to make the move to England.

But, the landscape could now change in the aftermath of Barcelona’s impending sale of 49.9% stake in their Barça Licensing & Merchandise wing (BLM), which could rake in investment of around €300 million.

As a result, Barcelona are not viewing the sale of de Jong as a priority anymore. However, the club will look to find suitors for the unwanted players on the roster such as Samuel Umtiti, Martin Braithwaite and Clement Lenglet, among others.

As for de Jong, he has time and again insisted that he is very happy at Barcelona and wishes to continue at the club beyond this summer. Whether he gets to fulfil his desire will be clearer in the coming weeks.