Barcelona's push to sign Matthijs de Ligt this summer continues.
At the start of 2019, Barca didn't want to take the Dutch international this summer, having splashed out on a £67million deal for Ajax teammate Frenkie de Jong; instead, they hoped to wait another year.
But De Ligt's displays in the Champions League and the growing interest from Europe's biggest clubs - notably Bayern Munich, Juventus and Manchester United - ultimately led the Spanish champions to make their move.
For his part, the teenager has always had Barcelona as his No.1 pick, even though his agent, Mino Raiola, believed that better financial deals would be on offer elsewhere.
However, with Ajax braced for De Ligt's departure after a league and cup double, there remains no deal between the player and Barcelona.
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Increasingly, having looked like the only outcome a month ago, there are now serious questions - particularly given Barca's finances and Antoine Griezmann's potential move to Camp Nou - over whether a deal will actually get done.
Speaking on Wednesday night after lifting the Dutch title, De Ligt commented: "We've just won the league and this isn't the time to talk about my future.
"I don't know if I will go with Frenkie de Jong [to Barcelona]. I still have to analyse things and see everything. We'll see what happens.
"I cannot say anything. We'll see at the end of summer. There is nothing yet."
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Sport reports that Barcelona are hardening their position, with the transfer "getting complicated" and that numerous meetings with Raiola meaning "some optimism was lost".
It's claimed that De Ligt's camp had been informed weeks ago that Barcelona would not be offering any increases on their offer, only for controversial agent Raiola to continue pushing after his displays in Europe and continued interest from Europe's elite.
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Now Barcelona, as they did with De Jong in the face of Paris Saint-Germain, are taking a stand, believing their offer to be good enough and are leaving it up to De Ligt to decide.
However, "the final outcome is not clear" and now Barcelona are waiting to see if he looks elsewhere for more money, or follows the path well trodden and joins close pal De Jong in Catalunya.
It's claimed Barcelona expect a decision to be made within the next 10 days, but the club's current decision of not raising their offer won't change - offering hope to other suitors of stepping in and landing the Ajax captain.
