Manchester United’s long-term target Frenkie de Jong more open to leaving Barcelona this summer | OneFootball

Manchester United’s long-term target, Frenkie de Jong, is in pole position to be sold by Barcelona this season and he is more open to moving this summer than previous years.

The Red Devils have struggled to get a tune out of any of their midfielders with the exception of Kobbie Mainoo and Scott McTominay this season.

Even the Scot’s contributions have been as a goal scorer and late match winner, not as a midfielder.

Casemiro and Christian Eriksen, who were both such lynchpins in the side last year, have had poor seasons and both don’t look cut out for the rigours of Premier League football any more.

Therefore, the Red Devils are looking to sign a midfielder in the summer with Andre, Youssouf Fofana and Joao Neves all linked to a move.

However, one long-term target the club and especially Erik ten Hag have had is that of Frenkie de Jong.

United spent the entire summer of 2022 chasing De Jong, in spite of the player’s clear preference to stay on the Mediterranean coast.

Ever since, the rumours have never really gone away and recent murmurs have suggested that a move could be closer this summer than it has ever been.

It was reported recently that United were willing to offer a huge €90 million to secure the services for the Dutch international.

What’s more, this week saw reports that Barcelona were prepared to sell the player should he refuse to sign a new contract on significantly reduced weekly wage.

Spanish paper AS have added more to the story and report that Barcelona are not only open to a sale but that De Jong is in “pole position” to be sold this summer.

The Catalan’s financial issues are widely known and it is clear that they need to sell at least one player to generate funds, if they wish to have any sort of transfer window themselves.

“Joan Laporta’s first-person intervention to straighten out Ronald Araújo’s renewal has once again put Frenkie de Jong on the pole for possible transfers”.

The paper goes on to provide a catalogue on why De Jong is the man most likely to depart the Camp Nou.

“After five seasons as a Barça player, his very high salary is not the only thing that is attributed to the Dutchman. His sporting performance has not been what was expected and he has not become the spiritual leader of Barça that was expected when Josep Maria Bartomeu signed him with great fanfare in 2019”.

In addition, “the departure of Sergio Busquets has not pushed him to take the next step and, if that were not enough, he has had the misfortune of suffering three injuries to his right ankle”.

The outlet references the Dutchman’s preference to stay at the club but hints that this might be changing.

“Settled in the city, where he has even become a father in recent months, De Jong has always shown signs of not wanting to move. However, in recent times a certain rumour has circulated that he could be more open to an exit. There would be no shortage of suitors”.

If Ten Hag somehow survives this season and is still the manager during the transfer window, you can fully expect United to pursue De Jong. In addition, if it is true that technical director Jason Wilcox has demanded that the manager pursues a more possession based style, the former Ajax player would be perfect for that role as a deep lying midfielder.

The negative of course is that it would be the signing of a star name, who is still relatively young at 26, will definitely have questionable motivation as he will certainly view United as a massive step down from Barcelona.

Moreover, De Jong will no doubt expect massive financial compensation for the move and this is a model that INEOS are desperately trying to move away from.

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