Manchester United are prepared to concede defeat in the race to sign Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, according to a report.
The 25-year-old has been pursued by the Red Devils throughout the summer, with Erik ten Hag identifying the Netherlands international as his primary target.
Ten Hag was hoping to reunite with the former Ajax man at Old Trafford as he believes that he has the prefect attributes required to adapt to his possession-based style of play.
United allegedly reached an agreement with Barca to sign De Jong for a fee in excess of £70m last month, but they have since become frustrated by the delay to the proposed deal.
De Jong is understood to have no intention of leaving Camp Nou this summer, with the midfielder keen to play in the Champions League, which United cannot provide this season.
According to the Daily Mail, the Red Devils have not given up their pursuit of De Jong just yet, but both the club and Ten Hag are now resigned to missing out on the Dutchman.
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While De Jong may not be heading to Old Trafford this summer, Premier League rivals Chelsea – who are competing in the Champions League – have emerged as a realistic destination for the midfielder.
A recent report claims that the Blues are 'very close' to reaching an agreement with Barcelona over a deal for De Jong, while another states that the West Londoners are attempting to negotiate a lower fee to the one United agreed to pay earlier this summer.
However, there is still an issue regarding the £17m that De Jong is owed by Barca in deferred wages and the player is reluctant to leave the club unless the matter is resolved.
Barcelona are believed to be looking to offload the Dutchman this summer to balance their books amid their well-documented financial problems.
However, club president Joan Laporta recently insisted that they want the midfielder to stay, telling reporters: "Frenkie de Jong is a Barca player of great quality and we want him to stay. With him and his teammates, we have a very powerful midfield. He has offers, but we want him to stay and he wants to stay too."
While United's hopes of luring De Jong to Old Trafford begin to fade, Ten Hag appears to have identified Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot as an alternative.
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An initial £15m fee has allegedly been agreed between the two clubs, but both parties have now hit a stumbling block in negotiations over personal terms, with one report claiming that United are currently offering below the terms proposed by the Frenchman's agent and mother Veronique Rabiot.
Prior to United's disappointing 2-1 home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, Ten Hag insisted that the club will not panic in the transfer market and stated that they are only interested in recruiting "the right players" who can benefit his squad.
"That would be a good situation (to have signed more players ahead of the season). But I have a squad and I'm happy with the squad," the Dutchman said last Friday. "The current squad, they make good progress. I'm happy with the signings until now. We just don't need any player, you need the right players and that's the point where we're working all together.
"If it's not the right player, no (would you be happy signing anyone). Then I'm happy with the current squad. We need the right players. It's about the right players and there are many but I cannot give comments about a player who is under contract in another club. When we have news, we will bring it.
"You work with the current squad and then you develop players who are in your current squad. In this moment, there are players in that position and they perform really well."
So far this summer, United have signed three new players in the form of Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez, the latter of whom arriving from Ajax for a fee in excess of £50m.
Oliver Thomas
