Man Utd STILL monitoring Frenkie De Jong's Barcelona situation
Karan Tejwani
- 10 Sep 2022 11:50 CDT
- 3 min read
Manchester United spent much of the summer hoping to sign Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong but failed to land the Dutchman for a variety of reasons.
De Jong was the top target for manager Erik ten Hag, who wished to bring the former Ajax man to Old Trafford having had a good relationship with him at Ajax.
The player’s desire was always to stay at Barcelona – his dream club since he was a child – and the issue over his deferred wages also resulted in him remaining at the Camp Nou.
The Red Devils aren’t giving up on their hope, however, and it’s expected that they’ll be back in the mix for him, with the club keeping an eye on his situation at the Catalan side.
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Man Utd monitoring Frenkie de Jong situation
Manchester United’s unsuccessful chase of De Jong last around 17 weeks – starting in the middle of May and ending when the transfer window came to a close at the start of September.
At one point in July, Manchester United even agreed a fee for the transfer, worth around £63 million, but a deal could not be completed as De Jong wished to receive the wages that were owed to him.
De Jong is reportedly owed around £17 million in wages as part of a contract extension he agreed back in 2020 under former President Josep Maria Bartomeu, and he wanted that before any possible departure.
🚨🚨| Manchester United had doubts about signing Frenkie De Jong because of the big transfer fee & that's why they didn't take the final step.@ADnl [🥇]
— Managing Barça (@ManagingBarca) September 10, 2022
Manchester United were baffled by Barcelona’s handling of the situation, and some reports suggested they even found it quite disrespectful over how they treated their player.
According to Give Me Sport, Manchester United are keeping an eye on the player’s situation and playing time at Barcelona in the upcoming season, in the hope that it will give them a chance to sign De Jong next summer.
Barcelona have plenty of options in midfield including the likes of Pedri, Gavi, Sergio Busquets, Sergi Roberto, Franck Kessie and more, and that may limit De Jong’s time on the pitch.
