Man Utd have told Barcelona that they are willing to pay €50m (£42m) to sign Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong in the summer, according to reports.

The Red Devils are having a bad time of it in the Premier League this season with Man Utd currently 13th in the table after replacing Erik ten Hag with Ruben Amorim in November.

Results and performances under Amorim have actually been worse than under Ten Hag and there are rumours that there could be a large turnover of players at Man Utd in the summer transfer window.

Ten Hag was known for buying a number of players who had played under him at Ajax with Andre Onana, Matthijs De Ligt, Lisandro Martinez, Antony and Noussair Mazraoui all signing.

Netherlands internationals Joshua Zirkzee and Tyrell Malacia were also signed by Ten Hag and there were rumours throughout his tenure that he wanted to sign another compatriot in the form of Barcelona midfielder De Jong.

However, a move for De Jong never materialised because the Dutchman made it clear that he wanted to remain at the Camp Nou with Man Utd struggling to attract the top players to Old Trafford.

A previous report in December described De Jong as a ‘hot potato’ at the Camp Nou with the Barcelona’s future always up in the air after making just four La Liga starts under Hansi Flick this term.

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And now fresh reports in Spain claim that Man Utd have ‘reached’ €50m (£42m) for De Jong as they ‘are asking again about’ the Netherlands international once again.

The Red Devils ‘continue to insist on signing’ De Jong from Barcelona and the report adds:

‘With the dismissal of Erik Ten Hag last October, in addition to the Barça star’s injury and performance issues at the time, his name had disappeared from their list of targets. But now, they have brought him back and are considering signing him.’

Man Utd ‘hope to sign him for a more affordable price’ after being quoted around €80m when Ten Hag was in charge.

The report continues:

’50 million is the amount that Rubén Amorim’s team has put on the table at Barça , hoping that they would accept and give the English board permission to begin talks with the midfielder born in 1997.

‘Laporta and Deco won’t settle for that figure to allow De Jong to leave, despite having asked for much less money until recently. And Barça’s intention is to fight to the bitter end to retain him and extend his commitment.’

There had been rumours that Bruno Fernandes could leave in the summer as Man Utd look to raise funds but transfer expert Fabrizio Romano insists that the captain will stay at Old Trafford.

Romano told GiveMeSport: “Yes, he signed a new deal 8 months ago as he trusts the project and he’s a key player for Ruben Amorim. He’s so important for United and he’s staying.”

Manchester United have reportedly drawn up a four-man striker shortlist ahead of the summer, including one of Arsenal’s top targets.

Rasmus Hojlund ended his 21-game goal drought against Leicester on Sunday and hopes the floodgates will now open.

“I’m obviously very happy to get my goal and it gives me a lot of confidence. I’m sure more will come now,” Hojlund said.

“I just saw – was it Faes? – he was running down towards the goal, so I was taking my time, seeing it as an opportunity to just get even closer to the goal, and then obviously I took my chance.

“I don’t think it was like the first time when I scored against Aston Villa, but obviously I was very happy. I see it as a good step on the way, but I just want to keep improving and keep being better.

“I know I’m not finished the article or what you say over here, but I just want to keep going. I’m sure I’ll get even better and score even more goals if I just focus on that.”

But Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenburg claims United are ‘intensively scouring the market’ for a new striker and are considering making a move this summer for one of four players.

He wrote on X: ‘Manchester United are looking to strengthen their attack in the summer and are intensively scouting the market.

‘Talks have already begun. #MUFC From the Bundesliga, the Red Devils are closely monitoring Hugo #Ekitike and Benjamin #Sesko. Viktor #Gyökeres and Victor #Osimhen remain high on their list.’

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Red Devils head coach Ruben Amorim knows Viktor Gyokeres well from his time at Sporting and Fabrizio Romano recently claimed that the Portuguese side are now willing to listen to offers in the region of €70m, down from €100m.

Napoli’s Osimhen, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike and RB Leipzig’s Sesko will likely be available for similar fees, so a transfer will come down to United’s preference and then their ability to persuade their No.1 target to move to Old Trafford.

Amorim heaped praise on Hojlund after his goal against the Foxes, before claiming his side will “start from scratch” after the international break.

Amorim said: “It’s really important for Rasmus. He’s doing the right things, helping the team, fighting for every ball. He scored a very good goal and I think he deserved it more than anybody.

“It was a difficult goal with difficult control with his right foot. It’s a shame we stop for the national teams because we have confidence.

“It was clear today my players are at the limit. We are going to use this window to rest and recover. It will be good. When we return, it will be like starting from scratch.”

Newcastle United have won the Carabao Cup; it is their first major trophy in 56 years and their first domestic honour in 70. So what happens next?

The Magpies have all the money in the world and while winning the 2025 Carabao Cup was the greatest feeling, 99.9% of the club’s fanbase will ever experience, winning silverware will become the norm and trophyless seasons will soon be frowned upon.

It is a similar tale to Chelsea and Manchester City after their big-money takeovers. These two kicked on to become Premier League juggernauts and European champions – will the floodgates open for Newcastle as well?

Here’s what has happened next when clubs craving world domination win their first trophy…

Chelsea: 2005 League Cup
What better place to start than Jose Mourinho’s first major honour as Chelsea manager? The Special One came in and won the Premier League in his first season at the club, dethroning the Arsenal Invincibles in the process. But first, the Blues claimed the Carling Cup in March 2005, beating none other than Liverpool in the final.

Eddie Howe is no Jose Mourinho but Chelsea post-2004 is what Newcastle want to become under Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – without all the managerial compensation packages – and probably would become if it wasn’t for the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

The Carling Cup was the first trophy of the Roman Abramovich era and the club’s first for five years. Mourinho’s side went on to win the 2004/05 Premier League at a canter, conceding a record-low 15 goals across 38 games. Chelsea’s success then veered into the realms of ridiculous. They retained the title under Mourinho and won the FA Cup and Carling Cup in 2007.

Newcastle will be pretty happy if their Carabao Cup success brings them another seven major honours over the next five years.

Manchester City: 2011 FA Cup
City became filthy rich in September 2008 and won their first post-takeover trophy in 2011, beating Stoke City in the FA Cup final. Not only was it the first of many Abu Dhabi trophies, but the club’s first in 35 years, which is a lot of years.

The floodgates most certainly opened after that. City would then win the Premier League the following season and since then, they have claimed six League Cups, seven league titles, two more FA Cups and the Champions League in a Treble-winning 2022/23 campaign.

The unfortunate thing for Newcastle is that, unlike Chelsea and City, they are being held back by PSR. The other two clubs had the freedom to spend to their heart’s content and essentially bought their success. The Magpies have to be a lot more clever, reserved and meticulous in their pursuit of glory; they can’t just go out and spend £50million on full-backs willy-nilly.

Manchester United: 1990 FA Cup
We all know it wasn’t always plain sailing for Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and winning the FA Cup final in 1990 was probably the biggest result of his Red Devils career.

Denying what would be Crystal Palace’s only trophy to date, Ferguson’s first taste of silverware in England had him wanting more. Before the turn of the millennium, United won five out of seven Premier League titles along with a smattering of FA Cup wins.

Newcastle will not replicate the consistent success Ferguson brought to Old Trafford but even half of that will do…

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Arsenal: 1996/97 Premier League
It is not always domestic cups that kick things off for English clubs. Arsene Wenger never won the League Cup in his 22 years at Arsenal but he did win the Premier League in his first full season at the club, snatching the crown from long-time rival Sir Alex. Arsenal did not finish outside the top two for another eight years, winning two more titles and four FA Cups.

Wenger also somehow never retained a league title, nor did he bring a Champions League to north London, but he turned Arsenal into one of the best and biggest clubs in Europe. Under the Frenchman, the Gunners grew a reputation every other team would envy due to his class, development of players and shrewd transfer business.

Arsenal remains a desirable club for players to this day because of how Wenger transformed them and the landscape of English football as a whole, not to mention the players he moulded into legends like Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira.

Newcastle have been pretty shrewd and Howe is making good players play like great players, but it will always be hard for them to garner the Wenger-like grudging admiration of rival fans given the controversies that have surrounded their Saudi ownership.

Liverpool: 1963/64 Division 1
What a manager Bill Shankly was, by the way. The Scot took Liverpool over in 1959 with the club in the second tier of English football. Five years later they were Division 1 champions. They backed that up with another in 1967 and an FA Cup in 1966. In 1973, Shankly led Liverpool to UEFA Cup glory and a year later he retired.

Shankly’s replacement was Bob Paisley, who was Liverpool manager for nine years. In that time, the Reds won six league titles, three European Cups and three League Cups. Everything they touched turned to, erm, silver, and even Paisley’s replacement, Joe Fagan, led the club to back-to-back European Cup finals, winning in 1984, his first year as manager.

Good luck, Eddie.

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Liverpool: 2018/19 Champions League
Jurgen Klopp Klopp Klopp, he did take Liverpool to the top.

Breaking your trophy duck at a club like Liverpool with a Champions League is certainly one way to do it, but was just so Liverpool, who had won Europe’s premier competition and not the actual league in the Premier League era before Klopp backed up that trophy with that long-awaited title win in 2020.

The Reds had the absolute optimum amount of success after the Champions League victory; they have been the Goldilocks club, winning the perfect number of trophies under the German.

Everton: 1984 FA Cup
Everton were competing with a legendary Liverpool team, just as Newcastle will likely be competing with a winning machine in Manchester City.

Considering PSR, the Toffees’ success in the 1980s seems the most achievable of every club here for Newcastle. They won the FA Cup in ’84, their first trophy since winning Divison 1 in 1970 and then ended a 15-year wait for another league title, finished second in ’86 and won it again the following year.

Between their FA Cup win and the 1988/89 season, Everton also won the European Cup Winners’ Cup and might have had more success in Europe if not for a five-year ban on English teams.

Leeds United: 1968 League Cup
Dirty Leeds were b**tards but they were serial winners and that is all their fans care about. Their first trophy in four years came via the League Cup, which was backed up by an Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in the same season.

Leeds won the same competition in 1971 and also enjoyed success in Division 1, finishing first in ’69, second for three consecutive seasons, third once and then first again in ’74.

Nottingham Forest: 1978 League Cup
It was a League Cup victory that set everything in motion for Nottingham Forest and if Eddie Howe can become Newcastle’s Brian Clough, the Toon Army will be pretty happy.

Like Leeds, Forest were a completely different club back in the day, winning trophy after trophy under a legendary manager. After years of misery in lower divisions, Nuno Espirito Santo is somehow close to steering the City Ground club back into Europe’s premier competition.

He has no chance of matching the achievements of Clough, who got Forest promoted to Division 1 in 1977 and won the title in the club’s first season in the top flight, which came shortly after a League Cup win. The success that followed was unprecedented.

Forest would go on to win one more League Cup and two European Cups by the end of the 1979/80 season.

Man Utd striker Rasmus Hojlund ‘would gladly’ return to Italy in the summer transfer window with Napoli interested in a deal, according to reports.

The Red Devils, who are currently 13th in the Premier League, are having a nightmare season after choosing to sack Erik ten Hag for Ruben Amorim at the end of October.

Their 3-0 win over Leicester City over the weekend saw them leapfrog Tottenham but only six Premier League clubs have scored fewer goals than Man Utd this season.

Hojlund, who scored his first goal in 21 matches in all competitions over the weekend, and fellow striker Zirkzee have come under fire for their lack of goals this term.

The two strikers have only got three goals each in the Premier League and Man Utd are likely to look for a new goalscoring centre-forward in the summer transfer window, with Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres heavily linked.

And now Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport (via ManUtdNews) claims that Napoli are looking to sign a new striker and that Hojlund is ‘one of the top names on manager Antonio Conte’s wishlist’.

It is understood that Hojlund ‘would gladly’ return to Italy after signing for Man Utd from Atalanta in 2023 in a deal worth around £63m, while the Red Devils ‘plan to request £51m’ from any interested clubs this summer.

The Red Devils’ valuation is described as a ‘deal-breaker’ for some Serie A clubs but Napoli have held ‘first exploratory talks’ as they want the Dane to compete for a place in the starting XI with former Man Utd striker Romelu Lukaku.

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Hojlund is now on international duty for the Denmark national team and has been speaking about his time at Man Utd so far, he told TipsBladet: “It has been frustrating. That’s probably the right word to use. It has of course affected me a lot in terms of wanting to get on the scoreboard.

“I would worry more if it was the other way around and it didn’t work out for me. There’s not much else to say other than that it has of course been a period where I would have liked to have done better.”

When asked if he’s lost faith in his own ability at any point in recent months, Hojlund replied: “No, I don’t think so. I’ve proven before what I can do. Quite a few people have done it too. So it’s not that.

“The frustration is probably what has filled me the most, but there has also been something in terms of performance where it hasn’t been good enough either.”

On whether he’s paid attention to any of the criticism levelled at him, Hojlund added: “I don’t spend that much time on social media. I post occasionally, but otherwise I keep it away and spend my time with my girlfriend now, and my family – and I’m about to get a dog.”