Barcelona have allegedly told Frenkie de Jong that he "needs" to leave the club this summer amid pressure from Manchester United.
The 25-year-old's future has dominated the talk of the summer transfer window, with new Red Devils head coach Erik ten Hag desperate for a reunion with his former Ajax protege.
Previous reports had claimed that Man United had agreed a fee of £72m including add-ons for the transfer of De Jong, who would cost the club an initial £63.5m.
However, president Joan Laporta has continued to deny the existence of such a deal and recently told ESPN: "Frenkie de Jong is our player, we really like him.
"We received some offers for Frenkie but we didn't accept as of now, as we want to talk with him and know exactly what he wants. We need to clarify some aspects of his situation."
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However, with Barcelona still recovering financially following the coronavirus pandemic, The Independent claims that De Jong has been told by the club that he must move elsewhere in the coming weeks.
De Jong has continued to hold firm on his stance that he has no intention of going to Old Trafford, as he is still owed as much as €17m (£14.4m) in deferred wages by Barcelona.
The report claims that the Netherlands international has received an offer from Barcelona to resolve the situation, but he would still be owed €10m (£8.5m) by the Catalan giants.
De Jong - who is said to be willing to take a pay cut in order to remain on the books at Camp Nou - has amassed a total of 13 goals and 17 assists from 140 matches at the club since 2019.
Despite their volatile economic situation, Barcelona have not been hesitant to splash the cash on marquee signings this summer and have welcomed Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha to the club in big-money deals.
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A move for Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde is in the works, with the Catalan giants now understood to be ahead of Chelsea in the race to sign the 23-year-old.
Barcelona are not expected to match Chelsea's £55m bid for Kounde, but the France international is nevertheless pining for a move to Camp Nou over Stamford Bridge.
As well as Raphinha and Lewandowski, Barcelona have also welcomed Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie to the club as free agents, but the club supposedly still cannot register any of their new signings.
Meanwhile, should Man United ultimately be forced to concede defeat in their pursuit of De Jong, Lazio's Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is understood to be Ten Hag's first-choice alternative.
Christian Eriksen and Tyrell Malacia have already arrived at Old Trafford this summer, and Lisandro Martinez's switch from Ajax will also be confirmed in due course.
Ben Knapton
