The 25-year-old midfielder is wanted at Manchester United by new manager Erik ten Hag, who coached him at Ajax previously.
Ten Hag has been in contact with De Jong to convince him to move to Old Trafford despite the reservations the Barcelona star has about joining Manchester United.
De Jong has been insistent that he does not want to leave Barcelona but the Catalan giants are in desperate need of raising funds before the end of the month.
And it has been claimed that Manchester United are now directly in contact with Barcelona for the Dutch midfielder.
The Premier League giants have been laying down the groundwork of a deal through intermediaries but now they are in touch with Barcelona directly.
Barcelona want €85m but Manchester United are confident of negotiating the price down in the coming weeks.
De Jong is yet to give his approval to a move but Manchester United are banking on Ten Hag to get his nod.
An opening bid is yet to be made but Manchester United are looking to get a deal over the line for the midfielder soon.
