Unless one has been living under a rock, Manchester United’s protracted but ultimately unsuccessful pursuit of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong was the saga of this year’s summer transfer window.
New manager Erik ten Hag had decided quite early in his tenure that the team needed to have a strong backbone and had deemed the current midfield duo of Scott McTominay and Fred not good enough for a team like United.
And he had singled out former Ajax star De Jong as the perfect man for the job. As was widely reported over the summer, the Dutch coach had called the midfielder to convince him of his project.
Internal talks were so positive that the club went ahead and agreed a €75m deal with the Catalan giants for the transfer of the diminutive midfielder.
The FDJ saga will continue in 2023
But a combination of salary issues along with the player’s desire to stay at the club meant that a deal never materialized and the Red Devils ultimately ended up signing Real Madrid superstar Casemiro.
But reports linking the 20-time English champions to the Dutch international have refused to go away and it looks set to carry over into next summer as well.
According to SPORT, United remain confident of signing the 25-year-old despite recent comments from president Joan Laporta.
Laporta, president of Barça, about de Jong and Man United: “I have never wanted to sell Frenkie de Jong. He has to be a pillar of the team ”, he tells BarçaTV ???????????? #MUFC
“January transfers? We did the work in the summer. There are no indications of having to make any deals now.” #FCB pic.twitter.com/iocIowEjBX
– Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 22, 2022
“The English club is absolutely convinced that they will have options to sign him this summer and, from England, you can see the latest statements from the Blaugrana president, Joan Laporta, declaring the Dutchman untransferable as an action to raise the price of a possible transfer,” added the report.
Currently, Barcelona have no plans to sell their midfield asset and although they do not plan to reduce his salary from now on, they hope that the player will make a positive gesture in that regard.
“The Dutchman and his entourage, for now, have ignored any negotiation attempt by Barça to lower their record and it seems quite clear that they will not enter this match,” the article details.
Laporta had recently revealed his position on the summer saga and how he currently saw the player.
“I never wanted to sell Frenkie de Jong. He is one of our pillars, a great talent and he is already one of the team leaders, ”as reported by Mundo Deportivo.
United believe they are in pole position to attack in the summer of 2023
But United are aware of these negotiating tactics and are also aware of the complete breakdown of the relationship between the midfielder and the club.
The Dutch midfielder had even revealed that he had felt “cheated and harassed during the summer” after the tricks used by the board.
The Red Devils believe they are in an advantageous position considering that a year has passed and the price will be lower considering all the drama that occurred in the summer that affected the player deeply.
“At United they understand that the valuation of the footballer, with one year less on his contract, must be lower than what was offered last summer.
“They are going to try until the end, but what is clear is that it is the footballer who has the upper hand and will be the one who decides his sporting future in the coming months,” the report further clarifies.
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