What Man Utd's tie with Barcelona means for De Jong transfer
Suraj Radia
- 7 Nov 2022 22:37 GMT
- 3 min read
Manchester United being drawn against Barcelona in the Europa League could end up being the final nail in the coffin of their pursuit of Frenkie de Jong.
The two sides will meet in the knockout round of the competition and United will come face-to-face with a player who so easily could have been playing for them instead of their opponents.
United pursued De Jong throughout the summer but couldn’t convince the Dutchman to make the switch to Old Trafford despite agreeing an €85 million deal with Barcelona to sign him.
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A major cause of uncertainty for the 25-year-old was United’s failure to qualify for the Champions League and the Premier League side will be hoping to punish the ironic twist of fate in De Jong’s season.
United are still believed to be keen on signing De Jong and had even been linked with a renewed move for him in January, with the Dutchman reportedly more open to an approach than he was in the summer.
However, with the two sides are set to face-off in a two-legged affair in February after the close of the transfer window, the draw has almost certainly ended any hope of a deal being struck.
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Despite being strapped for cash and knowing they could take advantage of the situation, Barca are unlikely to sanction a mid-season sale of De Jong.
The La Liga outfit could demand an inflated fee in order to sell De Jong before the tie, but they will be wary of suffering more humiliation this season by the player coming back to haunt them.
Both sides will be taking the tie seriously, with Barca looking to redeem themselves after crashing out of the Champions League and United knowing success in the Europa League could be their best way back into Europe’s premier competition.
United had initially identified De Jong as the ideal signing to kick-start the Erik ten Hag era and made their first attempt to sign the midfielder as early as May.
De Jong, however, was desperate to stay at Barca and rejected any notion of a move, largely due to the Catalan side still owing him more than €20m in unpaid wages.
Barca were hoping De Jong would leave in order to generate income and get his salary off the wage bill, even allegedly threatening him with legal action to try and force a move.
But ultimately, even despite late interest from Chelsea and Bayern Munich, De Jong remained at Barca where he has found his way back into the starting line-up, having began the season on the bench.
