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The Red Devils are closing in on a deal to add the Dutch midfielder to their squad on a five-year contract.
Manchester United are closing in on signing Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek after reaching an agreement on a fee with the Dutch giants.
The deal is understood to be worth around £ 40 million ($ 53 million) and the 23-year-old is close to becoming Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first signing in the summer transfer window once personal terms are completed and a doctor.
United have been monitoring the Dutch international for a while as they look to strengthen their midfield options and reaffirmed their interest when it became clear that Van de Beek was interested in moving to Old Trafford.
There were reports of some late interest from Tottenham, but it is understood that United always led the race.
Ajax manager Erik ten Hag fueled speculation that Van de Beek was leaving the club when asked for a transfer update ahead of a friendly clash with Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
“There have been some developments that made us decide to keep him out of the team today,” said Ten Hag. Ziggo Sport.
“We’ll see what happens. We’ll make an announcement as soon as there’s some clarity.”
United expected to have Jadon Sancho through the door as their first signing of the summer but the harsh economic climate, due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, means that they have not been able to reach an agreement with Borussia Dortmund for the former Manchester City . young.
Dortmund is expecting a fee of 120 million euros (108 million pounds sterling / 142 million dollars) for Sancho, but United believe it is not a realistic figure given the state of their finances due to the impact of Covid-19.
United is understood to have been frustrated by the pace of discussions with the German side, which has made the unusual decision to use an outside agent to discuss the deal.
Player salaries and agent fees continue to be an issue in negotiations, and United is wary of making the same mistake it did with Alexis Sánchez, when his massive £ 560,000 a week salary ended up wrecking everything. the club’s salary structure after his arrival from Arsenal in January 2018.
Executive Vice President Ed Woodward has consistently warned that this would be a ‘difficult’ transfer window, but the club is still keen to invest in the team as Solskjaer looks to take advantage of last season’s third-place finish, which secured a return to the team. Champions League. .
