With the delays on the part of the player to consider a move to Old Trafford, Manchester United may be forced to change direction away from Frenkie de Jong.

New manager Erik ten Hag wanted his former Ajax star at United, but the Dutch midfielder is not keen on leaving behind Champions League football.

Manchester United recently stated their willingness to wait until the last day of the transfer window for de Jong. But from the look of things, it appears as if the club are beginning to lose hope.

According to Fabrizio Romano, United have lined up two key alternatives to de Jong. Curiously one of them has been linked with Barcelona in recent months.

Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans and Wolves’ Ruben Neves are the two other names on the table. The latter has been earmarked as a potential long-term replacement for Sergio Busquets, but Barcelona appear to have parked their interest for now at least.

It would be curious if United did opt for Tielemans as a de Jong alternate, as the two players normally occupy different spaces on the pitch.