Man Utd news: Frenkie De Jong's private chat may have ended Ten Hag hopes once and for all
Manchester United may have been dealt a final hammer blow in their hopes of returning to seal a transfer for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong this summer. The Red Devils spent the entire previous summer transfer window attempting to reunite the Netherlands playmaker with his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag, but De Jong opted to remain in La Liga amid a financial dispute with his employers.
However, there have been reports that suggested United’s interest in De Jong remains strong despite signing both Casemiro and Christian Eriksen to bolster Ten Hag’s midfield options, while adding Marcel Sabitzer on loan in January. Whether De Jong would be interested in a summer move to Old Trafford remains to be seen, but United icon Dwight Yorke has revealed a chat that he had with the Dutchman that has raised further doubts over whether he is prepared to leave Barcelona.
“I actually spoke to Frenkie De Jong when we played against him in the A-League All-Stars game in Australia [in May 2022],” Yorke told Premier League Odds. “I have a little bit of insight, he wanted to see what Barcelona would become under the new guidance of Xavi and see how that panned out before he decided if he wanted to join Manchester United.
“But there is a Dutch connection with Erik Ten Hag, De Jong would be a great pick because he's an excellent player. He would be the player that would fit into that midfield net to Casemiro and give us a bit more stability. Manchester United would have a very solid core to the team if he was to join.”
De Jong did indeed give Xavi and Barcelona time to see what direction the club would be moving in, as the club’s icon has guided them to a nine-point lead at the top of La Liga. The Catalan side also have one foot in the Copa del Rey final after taking a 1-0 lead at the Bernabeu over Real Madrid in the first leg of the semi-finals.
They did get knocked out of the Champions League and then the Europa League by United, but having been made a key player for a side on course to win the league title, De Jong will likely have been impressed with the beginning of Xavi’s tenure at the Nou Camp and may have ruled out a move to United.
