Man Utd still pushing for De Jong transfer
Suraj Radia
- 30 Sept 2022 19:59 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United still hold hope in signing Frankie de Jong despite the Barcelona midfielder rejecting a move to Old Trafford during the summer.
The Dutchman was United’s top target in midfield and a fee of €85 million had been agreed with Barcelona but De Jong was unconvinced by joining a team that wasn’t playing in the Champions League.
De Jong had previously been determined to remain at Barca but he has only started three of his side’s six games in La Liga this season and the Catalans are open to selling him due to his high salary.
A report from ESPN claims that United boss Erik ten Hag is unfazed by De Jong’s uncertainty over joining the club and that he remains high on the club’s wish list, along with Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham.
However, United accept that they will face strong competition for Bellingham, with Manchester City, Liverpool and Real Madrid among the teams reportedly interested, and convincing De Jong to sign could be considered more realistic.
Any big money move will likely be projected for next summer, with United expecting a quiet January window after posted losses of £115.5m in their recent financial report.
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What has De Jong said about his future?
Liverpool and Chelsea were also linked to De Jong in the summer but the former Ajax man told the media recently that he had no intention of leaving Barca despite the club’s ‘own ideas’.
"I always wanted to stay at Barcelona and this is why I always remained calm in the summer," De Jong said.
"I can't give too much details away. The club has it's own ideas and I have my own ideas too. And sometimes this clashes with each other. But at the end of the day things went OK.”
🚨 Barcelona still owe €42M to Ajax:
→ €32M for the transfer of Frenkie De Jong
→ €10M for the transfer of Sergino Dest
(Source: @laiatudel)— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) September 29, 2022
Barca had previously told De Jong that he needed to leave the club or take a salary cut but the 25-year-old was unwilling to depart without being paid the deferred wages he was owed, an amount believed to be in the region of €17m.
United ended up signing Casemiro from Real Madrid for around £70m and the Premier League side spent more than £200m in the summer after losing their opening two games of the season.
Read more about: La Liga, Premier League, Barcelona, Chelsea, Dortmund, Liverpool, Man City, Man Utd, Real Madrid, Casemiro, Frenkie de Jong, Jude Bellingham
