According to Michael Plant, Manchester United have approached Barcelona to discuss the possible move of Frenkie de Jong this summer. The Premier League club are willing to offer around £30m/£40M to procure the player they wanted in the 2022 window.
Frenkie de Jong has done well but not enough
Frenkie de Jong caught the limelight during his stint at Ajax. Impressed with his talent, Barcelona signed him in the winter of 2019 for €75 million. While the player has managed to establish himself in the squad, he has failed miserably to meet the expectations.
de Jong’s continued struggle with the injuries has become a concern as well. The player managed to feature in only 30 games last season. He scored two goals and averaged 2.1 tackles, 0.7 interceptions, and 1.3 clearances per game (stats via whoscored).
The Dutch midfielder can play on all positions but enjoys a deep sitting role. He is press-resistant and can control the tempo of the game well. With accurate passes, dribbling, and good positioning, he is a quality player to have at disposal.
Barcelona want to get rid of Frenkie de Jong’s high salary
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag had made Frankie de Jong his main target in the 2022 transfer window. As a result, the English outfit went all out to sign the player and even agreed to offer €75m plus add-ons worth up to €10m to Barcelona.
However, the deal didn’t go through as Frankie decided against joining Old Trafford. Therefore, the Red Devils went on to sign Casemiro from Real Madrid. The decision to sign the Brazilian turned out to be a flop as the player is past his prime and has performed below-par.
Hence, it makes sense for Manchester United to sign a new defensive midfielder this summer. While they are trying to sign PSG’s Manuel Ugarte, they want to keep other options open as well. A move for de Jong is not being ruled out considering the Spanish giants need to raise funds amid the financial crisis.
