Barcelona manager Xavi has admitted that he cannot guarantee that Frenkie de Jong will remain at Camp Nou this summer amid interest from Manchester United.
The Netherlands international was quickly identified by Erik ten Hag as his number one target to reinforce the midfield after their successful relationship at Ajax.
The Red Devils have been working on a deal with Barcelona for some time now, and an agreement is now believed to be in place between the two clubs for a package totalling £72m.
However, De Jong has remained defiant at Barcelona and supposedly has no intention of leaving the Champions League club to drop down to the Europa League with Manchester United.
A recent report claimed that Man United were preparing a final contract offer for the ex-Ajax starlet, but Chelsea are waiting in the wings and are ready to hijack a deal.
La Blaugrana are also understood to owe the 25-year-old as much as £14m in deferred wages, and players' union Fifpro have confirmed that they are keeping a close eye on the situation.
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De Jong has been a prominent figure in Barcelona's pre-season amid the speculation surrounding his future, and Xavi has refused to shut the door on a potential exit for the midfielder.
"I don't know if he's [De Jong] going to stay here. There's still time and a lot of things can still happen," Xavi told reporters after his side's 2-0 success over the New York Red Bulls in a pre-season friendly.
Fuel was added to the fire surrounding De Jong's future when he was played out of his usual central midfield position in pre-season, but Xavi has played down the significance of such an alteration.
"At the moment he's part of the team, like everyone else. The fact that he played as a central defender in the other games was not a sign that he was leaving. I don't need to send signals on the pitch. I can speak directly with my footballers."
In contrast to Xavi, Barca president Joan Laporta has continued to insist that De Jong is not for sale and has reiterated his desire to keep the Dutchman on the books in Catalonia.
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"He [De Jong] wants to stay and we want him to stay. That is the most important. What is clear is that we have a new salary scale and all the players have to fit into it. We are trying to make these players understand the reality of the club," Laporta added.
"We find ourselves with a salary mass triggered by more than 40%. We all have to make an effort. We are going to do everything possible to make him stay and we hope that the player will also do everything possible to stay."
De Jong's current deal with Barcelona still has four years left to run, and the midfielder has amassed a total of 13 goals and 17 assists in 140 competitive outings for the club since 2019.
Man United have already signed Christian Eriksen to beef up their engine room this summer, while Lisandro Martinez is also capable of deputising in the holding midfield role after doing so under Ten Hag at Ajax.
Should Man United ultimately fail in their efforts to convince De Jong to leave Barcelona, Lazio's Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is thought to be Ten Hag's number one alternative option, and there are rumours of the Red Devils readying a £42m bid for the Serbia international.
Ben Knapton
