Manchester United will have to pay eye-watering fee for Frenkie De Jong

If you're not already aware of who Frenkie De Jong is, don't worry, you soon will be...

21 years of age, De Jong is a Dutch midfielder who currently plies his trade at Ajax. Already, there's a considerable amount of hype around him in his homeland. Having made his first appearance for the Amsterdam club's first team a couple of years ago, he's now established himself as a regular - turning heads at some of Europe's biggest clubs over the last twelve months. Barcelona were strongly linked with a move for him in the summer with Tottenham also reportedly registering their interest. Now, according to a report from The Netherlands, it appears Real Madrid and, of course, Manchester United are also sniffing around. De Telegraaf report that Real, who see De Jong as a potential successor to Luka Modric, are currently in pole position to sign him at the end of the current season. United are also said to have made contact with his agent, Ali Dursun, with a view to taking him to Old Trafford. Dursun refused to confirm whether Real or United had made an approach for the youngster, directing reporters to Ajax's director of player policy, Marc Ovrmars. "I can neither confirm nor deny this", he said. "You have to ask Marc Overmars because I send all the clubs that report to me to him." If Ajax  do decide to sell De Jong, the report adds that it's likely he will only be allowed to leave for a fee of around 80 million euros (£71m). Clearly, this is an eye-watering amount for such a young player who is relatively unproven outside of the Dutch league. Given the reported interest in him, however, there's every chance someone might actually pay it.