Manchester United have reportedly submitted an official bid for their primary transfer target Frenkie de Jong.

What's the word?

That is according to a report from Spanish outlet Marca, as per the Express, who state that the Old Trafford side have officially opened the bidding for the Barcelona midfielder.

It is said that the initial offer made by the Red Devils contains a fixed transfer sum of £51.2m and could rise to around £68.3m when performance related bonuses are taken into consideration.

With De Jong's contract valid until the summer of 2026, United's offer has to reflect the contract length, meaning that the valuation for the player as an individual asset would be a bargain considering today's market for a player of the 25-year-old's calibre and potential.

Though, this is United's first official bid, so it remains to be seen as to whether Barcelona will even budge in their stance to let the midfielder depart.

Ten Hag's Dream

The acquisition of De Jong, who's potential departure from Barcelona has been dubbed "outrageous" by Sayak Dipta Dey, would represent somewhat of a dream purchase for new United boss Ten Hag, who of course worked with the star at Ajax.

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In what is untrodden territory in the Premier League, Ten Hag has clearly looked to employ some familiarity to help him achieve his goals at United, as can be seen through the signings of Mitchell van der Gaag and Steve McClaren in his coaching staff.

This notion will most certainly follow through to his first team selection, with the likes of Donny van de Beek set to be given a first team chance and other former players in De Jong, Jurrien Timber and Matthijs de Ligt all reportedly eyed.

John Murtough has clearly been instructed to bring in De Jong, who would not just bring familiarity. He would inject some much needed stability into the United engine room, with his average of 5.67 passes into the final third and 10.91 passes under pressure per 90 surefire stats that denote his coolness under pressure, emphasising his ability to keep hold of possession in tight areas.

Having created 43 chances in La Liga for Barcelona this season at an average of 1.6 chances created per 90, the Netherlands international would rank second amongst United's squad, behind Bruno Fernandes.

Though it is worth noting that De Jong's main attribute is to dictate the midfield and implement solidity throughout the possession phase, so in essence, whilst he is a capable chance creator himself, the likes of Van de Beek, Fernandes and Jadon Sancho would benefit most from his arrival as he would enable them to fulfil their creative ambitions.

In other news: Sky Sports: MUFC now plot bid to sign "dangerous" £29.9m gem, he's a big Matic upgrade...