Manchester United reached an agreement with Barcelona to lure Frenkie de Jong in 2022 but the Dutch midfielder refused to leave the Catalan giants.
Erik ten Hag has confirmed that the Red Devils pushed hard for the former Ajax superstar and reports indicate, he still wants to hire him.
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As per today’s version of Sport (news image provided below), Ten Hag ‘dreams’ of signing De Jong from the Blaugrana.
In a recent interview with Gary Neville, the 54-year-old manager stated:
“To play a certain way you need very specific players. Yes, we went to sign De Jong and we couldn’t at the time.”
“He is a footballer who would have complemented very well with Casemiro in the midfield to develop the game we wanted.”
The Catalan media outlet claim if the Man Utd manager remains in charge in summer, he will likely return to sign the Netherlands international.
Sport claim Ten Hag is ‘convinced’ De Jong is the one player who can make the difference to his team.
The 26-year-old midfielder was a key member of the Ajax squad that reached the semi finals of the UEFA Champions League in 2019 under Ten Hag.
Man Utd have not been able to adequately reinforce their No.6 position. They secured Casemiro two years ago but the veteran is past his best and now injury prone as well.
De Jong is in his prime and would cost around £86million (Mundo Deportivo).
For the latest updates on the transfer saga, watch this space.
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