Man United willing to make Frenkie de Jong their highest earner

Penny for the thoughts of Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester United are reportedly willing to make Frenkie de Jong their highest earner at the club in an attempt to convince him to join. United have been on a summer-long pursuit of the Dutch midfielder but have had no luck so far, with De Jong supposedly hesitant about a move to Old Trafford. Barcelona meanwhile have told De Jong that they would like to offload him in an attempt to trim their wage bill. However, according to Sport, United haven't quite given up on a deal just yet and are preparing to make one final offer, which will see De Jong become the highest paid player at the club. The 25-year-old is set to be offered £450,000 a week while United will also pay the £17m De Jong is owed by Barça in deferred wages.

Premier League rival also interested in move for De Jong

Despite being the leader in the race for De Jong's signature, United are being rivalled by fellow Premier League club Chelsea, who are also supposedly readying a bid. Sport claimed that Blues owner Todd Boehly met with Joan Laporta to discuss signing the midfielder, but negotiations didn't go very far. The two clubs have been speaking about deals which would see defenders Marcos Alonso and César Azpilicueta head to the Camp Nou. Chelsea was beaten by the Catalan giants to the £46m signing of Jules Koundé last week. Barça boss Xavi is keen to get the deals wrapped up and have both Spanish internationals in his ranks before Chelsea kick off their league season against Everton on Saturday August 6. Related links:

• Barcelona accused of ‘extorting’ Frenkie de Jong after Manchester United bid
• Frenkie De Jong should consider legal action against Barcelona, Gary Neville claims
• Frenkie de Jong prefers move to Chelsea as he ‘doesn’t like’ Manchester