Ten Hag confesses his failed pursuit of Barcelona midfield star | OneFootball

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Despite being a key component of Xavi’s Barcelona team, Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong has constantly faced speculation about his future at the Catalan club. Only a few weeks ago, he was reported to be one of the players the Blaugranes are considering selling to generate the funds they desperately need in the coming summer.

But this is not the first time that the Dutchman has been linked with a move away from the club. Almost two years ago, he was very close to joining the Premier League side, Manchester United, and Barcelona even pushed for a sale, but ultimately, the player himself resisted undertaking such a move and stayed at the Catalan club.

That summer was the first transfer window that Eric Ten Hag had with Manchester United, and the Dutch tactician was looking to add several pieces to his squad to be able to return the Red Devils to their former glory.

He successfully got the likes of Lisandro Martinez, Antony, Casemiro, and Tyrell Malacia at that time, but was unable to get Frenkie. Now, as Mundo Deportivo has reported, the United head coach has reminisced on that time, and explained why he wanted his former midfielder at his new club:

“To play in a certain way, you need very specific players. Yes, we went to sign De Jong and we couldn’t at the time. He’s a footballer who would have complemented Casemiro very well in the midfield to develop the game we wanted.”

There is no doubt that Frenkie would have been a great addition to the Manchester United squad at that time, especially while having Casemiro at his side in the midfield.

That is why the Red Devils were willing to offer as much as €80 million for him, a sum that Barcelona agreed to undertake the sale on, but ultimately, the move was ruled out by the player himself.