Man United reject surprise player swap offer from Barcelona

Manchester United have rejected Barcelona’s attempts to include Harry Maguire as part of a player-plus-cash deal for midfielder Frenkie de Jong. 

The Red Devils have been in talks with the Catalan club about potentially signing the Dutchman, but the La Liga side are keen to include Maguire as part of the deal, according to The Sun.

De Jong is new United boss Erik ten Hag’s number one target for this summer, with the pair having enjoyed success whilst working together at former club Ajax.

United are on the search for at least one central midfielder after the departures of Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard at the end of the season.

Maguire was heavily criticised for some of his performances last season

Maguire endured an inconsistent season at Old Trafford, but that hasn’t deterred Barcelona’s interest and they reportedly made an attempt to include the England international in the De Jong deal.

Barcelona are in need of defensive reinforcements, with Gerard Pique’s future at the club looking uncertain and Clement Lenglet expected to depart after being told that he isn’t part of manager Xavi Hernandez’s plans.

De Jong, meanwhile, looks to be on the way to Manchester in a straight cash deal, with the fee reported to be in the region of £69 million.

The two clubs are currently some way apart in terms of their respective valuations of the 29-year-old, but an agreement is expected to be reached.