Manchester United are in talks with Barcelona over a potential transfer of Frenkie de Jong, according to Fabrizio Romano. However, there is apparently a long way to go, a lot of things to be discussed and agreed on before the deal gets anywhere near being completed.
The man pushing for this transfer to happen is unsurprisingly Erik ten Hag, who will take over as Manchester United manager this summer when he leaves Ajax, the club where he coached De Jong since taking that job in December 2017 until De Jong’s departure to Barcelona in the summer of 2019. It seems the Dutch tactician wants his former charge to be a part of his revolution at Old Trafford.
De Jong is a product of the academy at Willem II, and he joined Ajax at the Under-21 level in 2015. He played a big role in Ajax’s Champions League success in 2018-19, where they reached the semifinals at the expense of Juventus and Real Madrid in the knockout stages, and eventually left in a deal which saw the Dutch club cash in around €85 million.
Since arriving to the Camp Nou, he hasn’t exactly managed to inspire a return to the very top of European football for Barcelona, despite making 138 appearances in all competitions in which he has so far scored 13 goals from his position as a central midfielder, along with 17 assists.
Until recently, reports in Spain categorically claimed Barcelona were not prepared to contemplate any offers for his services, but things have obviously changed if there are talks with Manchester United in progress.
United will lose the services of Paul Pogba this summer and that’s probably where De Jong is expected to fit in, along with his former teammate at Ajax Donny van de Beek who is due back from his loan with Everton.
