It is time to examine Manchester United’s pursuit of the Barcelona star as Frenkie de Jong turns 26 today. Come the end of the season, Erik ten Hag plans to rekindle his interest in the midfielder. Express Sport today assesses the scenario…
Transfer understanding
United sought to acquire De Jong from Barcelona last summer.
Ten Hag’s main aim had been quickly determined to be him because the two had previously collaborated at Ajax.
United agreed to a fee for the Netherlands international, according to The Athletic, and the Red Devils were willing to pay an initial £63 million with a further £8.47 million in bonuses.
Barcelona was willing to sell the player because the team was going through a tough financial time.
But United, despite agreeing a fee, were unable to get the deal over the line.
Meetings held
It was discovered in January that United had talked about signing De Jong after the current season.
The Red Devils were said to be hopeful that Ten Hag’s tight friendship with the Dutch international may work in their favor.
United also thought the 26-year-old was eager to go while having these internal discussions.
According to reports, De Jong told Ten Hag that if it were not for the dispute over his deferred salary, which Barcelona was still owed at the time, he would have joined United.
But in the next weeks and months, it should be evident whether he is indeed receptive to the idea of relocating to Old Trafford.
Ten Hag response
According to rumours from December, Ten Hag was ‘disappointed’ to have missed out on De Jong.
Given that United exerted every effort to acquire the former Ajax star, that is understandable.
But Casemiro’s arrival was a bright spot in the chase’s failure.
Initially, United planned to sign De Jong and later Juventus’ Adrien Rabiot, but opposition from the player’s supporters prevented either of those moves.
Even though Casemiro’s performance levels have declined recently, he has nonetheless been a resounding success.
Xavi’s stance
Sergio Busquets’ departure from Barcelona at the conclusion of the current campaign was just recently revealed.
As a stand-in for the seasoned pro, Sport reports that Xavi is banking on De Jong.
Although “everything implies Barcelona will look for a replacement to Busquets,” the club is nonetheless happy to have De Jong on their roster.
The Catalan giants might refuse United’s offer, of course, which would cause everything to alter.
It will be interesting to see what transpires, despite claims that they won’t be able to spend freely.