Back in the summer, Manchester United huffed and puffed in an attempt to sign Frenkie de Jong. The Barcelona star was Erik ten Hag’s priority transfer target at Old Trafford yet, in the end, the Red Devils settled for the arrival of Casemiro from Real Madrid instead. With his current side reportedly open to parting ways with the player in January, however, that green light could bode well for the New Year…
Manchester United appointed Ten Hag as their manager back in the summer, choosing the 52-year-old over the likes of Luis Enrique, Mauricio Pochettino and Julen Lopetegui.
And, almost immediately, they started to pursue De Jong.
United were emboldened by the 25-year-old’s positive relationship with Ten Hag, with the pair previously working together at Ajax – bringing big success to Amsterdam in the process.
But while the Red Devils did everything in their power to get a deal for De Jong over the line, ultimately it wasn’t possible.
That then forced United into moving for Casemiro, who has started to come good following his blockbuster move from Real Madrid.
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Yet De Jong remains a player United want and, now, reports in Spain claim Barcelona are willing to jettison the Netherlands international when the transfer window reopens in January.
That Barcelona are willing to sell the player, who is behind the likes of Pedri and Gavi in Xavi’s pecking order, means the Red Devils now have a green light to make a move.
Barcelona had, previously, budgeted for reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Yet they won’t be achieving that objective this term, having crashed out of the competition in the group stages.
While Barcelona have been ticking along nicely enough in La Liga, back-to-back defeats to Bayern Munich – as well as a failure to beat Inter Milan home or away – has counted against them.
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One factor behind De Jong’s thinking to stay at the Nou Camp, rather than move to Old Trafford, was a lack of Champions League football.
But that won’t now be an issue, with De Jong and Barcelona set to spend the rest of the season in the Europa League instead.
United would, in an ideal world, throw money at Barcelona in January to boost their chances of getting a De Jong transfer over the line.
Yet whether they do that remains to be seen, especially given how they backed Ten Hag so lavishly back in the summer.
With Barcelona ready to cut De Jong loose, three-and-a-half years on from his arrival from Ajax, that gives United a chance to make a real statement of intent.
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And if they come calling for De Jong again, with the player no longer a key figure at Barcelona, it’s certainly possible things will be different this winter.
Speaking in September, meanwhile, the Barcelona star insisted his main aim had always been to stay in Catalonia.
“I always wanted to stay at Barcelona this summer, and this is why I always remained calm in the summer,” he said.
And, two weeks ago, De Jong admitted he was hoping to become a regular at Barcelona once 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] has already decided, but normally we don’t know until the day of the game.” Should De Jong move to United, he’d become their 12th signing from La Liga.
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, Angel Di Maria and Victor Valdes during his stint in charge.
Eric Bailly was snapped up by Jose Mourinho in 2016, with Raphael Varane arriving from Real Madrid earlier in the summer.
And United made Casemiro their 10th signing from Spanish football when he moved from Real Madrid back in August.
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