Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville says he has it on good authority that Manchester United target Frenkie de Jong would prefer to join Chelsea if he does leave Barcelona this summer.

The Red Devils have reportedly agreed a transfer fee in the region of €85m (£71m) for the Dutchman but the deal has stalled, and Neville suggests that one of the main reasons is the player’s lack of interest in making the switch to Old Trafford:

I was in Miami when Barca were there playing two weeks ago and I got told ( third hand ) De Jong preferred staying at Barca or Chelsea and London. Wasn’t a concrete source but this follows that thought. https://t.co/UQd8G69sSj

— Gary Neville (@GNev2) August 2, 2022

As Neville mentions, it is “third-hand” information, but there are legitimate concerns about whether de Jong is actually prepared to join United. Many assume that manager Erik ten Hag wouldn’t have pursued the midfielder for this long if he didn’t know whether the player would sign for the Manchester club.

However, it does appear that if Chelsea were to make a concerted attempt to sign the Barca playmaker, United’s efforts over the past few months could be all for nothing.