Manchester United have long been pursuing Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, but it appears there’s a long way to go yet when it comes to resolving the saga and as put by Spanish journalist Alvaro Montero, it could turn to “the next soap opera of the season”.
Having appointed Erik ten Hag as their new manager, United have lost the services of Paul Pogba on a free transfer, and the Dutch tactician seems to be planning some sort of a core based around some of his former charges at Ajax. Donny van de Beek has returned from his Everton loan, and the club are said to be working hard on signing defender Lisandro Martinez for whom they face competition from Arsenal.
Nonetheless, the story of the summer so far is obviously De Jong. Barcelona are believed to be in need of funds and to get more stable in the market, they are prepared to sell the 25-year-old for a suitable fee. Their price at the moment stands at €80 million.
And while United hesitate to meet that demand and De Jong himself is saying he would prefer to stay put, Montero says he’s been informed that Chelsea are scheduled to hold talks with Barcelona and are expected to present an offer of their own for the midfielder.
Whether that’s just something thrown up by Barcelona president Joan Laporta to get United to step up and meet the asking price, remains to be seen. Montero still believes that if De Jong does leave Barcelona, he’ll end up at Manchester United.
“It seems that it is going to be the next soap opera of the season.”
Alvaro Montero reflects on the latest announcement from Barcelona stating Frenkie de Jong is not for sale pic.twitter.com/KrmQEA5wDy
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) July 8, 2022
