Ten Hag drops fresh De Jong Man Utd transfer hint

Stuart Telford

• 15 Feb 2023 16:23 CST
• 3 min read

Erik ten Hag has long since wanted to be reunited with former Ajax star Frenkie de Jong, and they will cross paths on Thursday when Manchester United take on Barcelona in the Europa League.

Ten Hag made De Jong his top transfer target when he replaced Ralf Rangnick in the Old Trafford dugout last summer, and both clubs wanted to make the move happen, with Barca desperate to raise funds.

But De Jong, who had described Barcelona as his "dream club" when he made his €75 million move from Ajax in July 2019, held firm, not least because he was owed €17m in deferred wages.

READ: Barcelona vs Man Utd: who has the more valuable squad?

Both parties have moved on in the interim. United's Plan B Casemiro has been phenomenal at the base of the Red Devils' midfield, and Barca have raised money in other ways, while De Jong has played 19 of a possible 21 games to help his side to the top of La Liga.

But ahead of the sides' meeting in Thursday's Europa League knockout round play-off, Ten Hag again hinted that he would be interested in working with De Jong - with whom he won the Dutch domestic double in 2019 - once more.

Ten Hag: Frenkie would make Man Utd stronger

"Frenkie is an incredible player and for every club in the whole world he will strengthen the squad, because he has a unique quality," he said at the pre-match press conference. "If you can get him in your squad, your team will be stronger.

READ: Man Utd get €200m boost over Ansu Fati and Frenkie de Jong

"We had a team in 2019 with a lot of fascination and he brings a lot of fascination. He has developed and become even better in Spain. He's a fantastic player, he plays out from the back, he always seems to have time and it was a pleasure working with him."

Ten Hag managed to get some of the old band back together last summer, with Lisandro Martinez and Antony swapping the Johan Cruyff Arena for Old Trafford, and there could yet be a glimmer of hope with De Jong.

La Liga have told Barca to cut €200m from their wage bill at the end of the season, and De Jong remains one of their highest-paid yet most saleable assets.