Mysport99 – Manchester United may have been given a glimmer of hope regarding Erik ten Hag’s interest in Frenkie de Jong. Neither Xavi nor Joan Laporta are keen to part ways with the Barcelona star over the coming transfer windows, but the door doesn’t appear to be closed completely.
Ten Hag made De Jong his top target after taking the job at Old Trafford, having already worked together at Ajax. Despite their prior partnership, the midfielder stood firm in his desire to stay at the Camp Nou, where he supposedly dreamed of playing as a child.
That didn’t stop the Red Devils pushing until the bitter end, however, with the financial aspects of a £73million deal supposedly agreed. But the player himself refused to give his blessing in a messy, long-running saga that saw club president Laporta publicly call for the Dutchman to take a massive pay cut.
As it stands, De Jong is still eating up a considerable chunk of La Blaugrana’s wage bill with further talks on a new, reduced contract thought to be in the pipeline.
All hope is not lost for United, though. According to Spanish outlet Sport, Laporta and Xavi agree that they don’t want to lose De Jong in an ideal world but the situation may have to be revised if United revisit their interest at the end of the season.
To bolster their midfield, the Red Devils eventually turned their attention to Casemiro, who arrived from Real Madrid in a bumper £70m deal. Ten Hag is still believed to be a fan of De Jong, however, which means the debacle may not be dead and buried.