Manchester United are reportedly planning to revisit their interest in Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, a target for Chelsea, in January.
According to a report by Spanish daily SPORT, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has instructed the club hierarchy to pursue a deal for Frenkie de Jong in the January transfer window. The Barcelona midfielder is also a target for Chelsea.
Frenkie de Jong was always the priority target for Manchester United in the summer. But as the Dutch midfielder expressed his reluctance to leave Barcelona, Manchester United were forced to look for other targets.
In a surprise move, they splashed £60 million to rope in Brazilian defensive midfielder Casemiro from Real Madrid, which was expected to be the endgame for de Jong’s potential arrival at Old Trafford.
But that appears to not be the case. Erik ten Hag is pretty determined to bring de Jong from Barcelona as Manchester United are poised to mount a challenge for the top four in the latter half of the season.
Both Christian Eriksen and Casemiro have taken up the challenge pretty enthusiastically and have been churning out consistent performance on a daily basis. But ten Hag feels the arrival of the former Ajax midfielder from Barcelona would bring a lot of dynamic appeal to the midfield, and he could be a focal point of his plans.
The lure of playing in the Champions League was one of the reasons for de Jong’s denial to leave Camp Nou. But with Barcelona now destined to return to the UEFA Europa League, it could soften his stance.
Also, Manchester United could use his game time issues to signal their intention of having the player in England. De Jong has started just four matches in La Liga and one in the Champions League. With the 2022 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, de Jong would be very conscious of his limited playing time on the pitch.
But Manchester United will not be alone in pursuit of de Jong, with Chelsea also keen on signing him. That is because N’Golo Kante and Jorginho are in the final years of their contracts with Chelsea, prompting the Blues to consider potential replacement.
Xavi Hernandez has used de Jong in both the deep-lying role and in his natural position. With Casemiro getting more and more comfortable with ten Hag’s approach, adding de Jong to the midfield would be a premium for all Manchester United supporters. The same holds true for Chelsea if Jorginho extends his stay.
Manchester United already had an agreement in place for the player. But they are not expected to pay the same amount as they would be in a better position to negotiate the terms this time.