De Jong to Man Utd Part II: Transfer epic gets 2024 reboot

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 9 Feb 2024 22:06 GMT
• 4 min read

Frenkie de Jong has told Barcelona that he wants to leave the club in the summer to pursue other goals, according to reports from Spain.

With the door open to De Jong leaving Camp Nou, where he has a contract that runs until 2026, it inevitably means fresh life will be injected into rumours linking him with a move to Manchester United.

The €86 million spent the summer of 2022 persistently linked with the Old Trafford club, with Erik ten Hag of the belief that he was the ideal player for the Red Devils’ midfield.

In the end, Barcelona won a tug-of-war with the Premier League club to keep De Jong, despite threatening to sue the midfielder over his contract. Man Utd, meanwhile, signed Casemiro from Real Madrid to plug the gap.

It now appears that Casemiro will move on in 2024, with the Saudi Pro League a likely destination for the veteran.

With De Jong now pushing to leave Barca and the Catalan club in need of making some substantial sales to ease the club’s financial situation, is it now fate that the Dutchman winds up at Man Utd two years after the previous transfer epic?

Is now the time De Jong moves to Man Utd?

The rumours will surely increase as the summer approaches, yet the prospect of De Jong moving to Old Trafford is arguably smaller now than it was back in 2022.

For starters, reports in Spain indicate that one of the main reasons for De Jong’s unhappiness at Barcelona stems from the club’s inability to compete to win the Champions League. At present, it doesn’t look like Man Utd will even be in that competition next season.

Furthermore, it remains to be seen just how much a central midfielder is a transfer priority for the Old Trafford side given the extensive shopping list they have ahead of what is going to be a massive rebuild. A winger and defenders also need to be signed, and the margins could be tight with regards Financial Fair Play (FFP).

Barcelona cannot afford De Jong, who has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €50m, to depart cheaply. As his contract still has more than two years to run, there is no need for them to be pushed into a cut-price deal.

On top of this, the emergence of Kobbie Mainoo is an exciting development for Man Utd and eases the need for big spending in this area. The teenager is set to be rewarded for his strong start in the professional game with a new contract, and the intention is to make him a centrepiece of the club for years to come.

De Jong may well come on the market, but there is no guarantee he winds up at Man Utd.