In the summer, Manchester United were huffing and puffing in an attempt to sign Frenkie de Jong. The Barcelona star was Erik ten Hag’s priority transfer target at Old Trafford but, in the end, the Red Devils settled for Casemiro’s arrival from Real Madrid. However, with his current team reportedly open to parting ways with the player in January, that green light could bode well for the New Year…
Manchester United appointed Ten Hag as their manager in the summer, choosing the 52-year-old over Luis Enrique, Mauricio Pochettino and Julen Lopetegui.
And, almost immediately, they began to chase de Jong.
United were emboldened by the 25-year-old’s positive relationship with Ten Hag, as the two previously worked together at Ajax, bringing great success to Amsterdam in the process.
But while the Red Devils did their best to get a deal for De Jong, it was ultimately not possible.
That then forced United to move for Casemiro, who started to do well following his successful move from Real Madrid.
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However, De Jong remains a player United want and now reports in Spain are that Barcelona are keen to part with the Dutch international when the transfer window reopens in January.
That Barcelona are willing to sell the player, who is behind Pedri and Gavi in Xavi’s pecking order, means the Red Devils now have the green light to make a move.
Barcelona had previously budgeted to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
However, they will not achieve that goal this term, as they fell out of the competition in the group stage.
While Barcelona have been making fairly good progress in La Liga, back-to-back losses to Bayern Munich, as well as their failure to beat Inter Milan at home or away, have played against them.
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One factor behind De Jong’s idea of staying at the Camp Nou, rather than moving to Old Trafford, was the lack of Champions League football.
But that won’t be a problem now, as De Jong and Barcelona will spend the rest of the season in the Europa League.
United, in an ideal world, would throw money at Barcelona in January to increase their chances of getting a de Jong transfer over the line.
Whether they will do so, however, remains to be seen, especially considering how they backed Ten Hag so generously in the summer.
With Barcelona set to release de Jong three and a half years after he arrived from Ajax, that gives United the chance to make a real statement.
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And if De Jong is called up again, as the player is no longer a key figure at Barcelona, things may very well be different this winter.
Meanwhile, speaking in September, the Barcelona star insisted his main goal had always been to stay in Catalonia.
“I always wanted to stay in Barcelona this summer, and that’s why I always kept my cool in the summer,” he said.
And, two weeks ago, De Jong admitted that he hoped to be a regular at Barcelona again.
“I want to be a starter again. Against Bayern I was not a starter and I hope to be against Real Madrid”, he said.
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“Maybe he [Xavi] He has already decided, but normally we don’t know until the day of the match”. If De Jong were to move to United, he would become his 12th La Liga signing.
Under Sir Alex Ferguson, the Red Devils recruited the likes of Jordi Cruyff, Quinton Fortune, Ricardo, Gerard Pique and Gerard Pique.
Louis van Gaal recruited Ander Herrera, Ángel Di María and Víctor Valdés during his period in charge.
Eric Bailly was signed by José Mourinho in 2016, and Raphael Varane arrived from Real Madrid at the beginning of the summer.
And United made Casemiro their 10th signing from Spanish football when he moved from Real Madrid in August.
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