Manchester United chief executive Richard Arnold and football director John Murtough have both been pictured in Barcelona amid the ongoing speculation surrounding Frenkie de Jong's future.
De Jong is believed to be Man United's number one transfer target this summer, but the Red Devils have thus far been unable to secure his signature, with the deal thought to be becoming increasingly complicated.
Arnold and Murtough did not travel with the squad to Thailand for the start of Man United's pre-season tour and have instead been pictured in Barcelona, and according to the Manchester Evening News, the duo are attempting to finalise the signing of the Catalan outfit's Dutch midfielder.
The report claims that the Man United chiefs met with Barcelona director of football Mateu Alemany, managing director Rafael Yuste and sporting adviser Jordi Cruyff.
Meanwhile, it is understood that the pair could hold a meeting with De Jong in an attempt to convince the 25-year-old to move to Old Trafford despite his desire to stay at Camp Nou.
"I prefer to stay with Barcelona. Barcelona is just my dream club. Also from a young age. I just said it too. I've never regretted my choice despite the fact that I had hoped for more in terms of prizes than I've achieved so far. But I have never regretted my choice," the midfielder told ESPN earlier this summer.
"You are always flattered when teams show interest in you as a player," De Jong also told reporters in June. "But I think I am at the biggest club in the world at the moment and feel fine there so there is no news."
Man United are believed to be prepared to pay an upfront fee of £56.2m for the midfielder, with the fee being raised through various add-ons.
De Jong also still has another four years left to run on his contract at Barcelona, but the Catalan outfit are believed to be keen to sell him to allow them to complete more transfer business this summer, with Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski and Leeds United's Raphinha both leading targets.
However, the deal has recently been thrown into doubt by Barcelona president Joan Laporta, who has claimed on two separate occasions recently that the Netherlands international is not for sale.
"There are clubs that want him, not just United. We have no intention of selling him, he wants to stay," Laporta recently told reporters. "Frenkie is considered as one of the best midfielders in the world by all the experts. We are happy to have him."
Meanwhile, the president later said at the unveiling of Franck Kessie: "Frenkie is not for sale. He is a Barcelona player. We don't want to transfer him."
When asked about De Jong on Monday during a press conference, Man United boss Erik ten Hag said: "I never talk about players who are not under contract of Man United, players from different clubs, so I cannot tell anything about this issue."
However, the Dutchman did confirm that midfield is an area where the club are looking to improve: "We know what we want. We not only want new players, we want the right new players, we have a good squad, there's huge potential, only when we find them is there an improvement in our squad we will do (business).
"My first press conference I already said definitely we are searching players in midfield, we have a need and also in offence, we are still looking for players."
Man United will open their pre-season against Liverpool on Tuesday before heading to Australia for matches against Melbourne Victory, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa. body check tags ::
