Man United have been given some pretty rough news as they try to sign Frenkie de Jong this summer.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock this summer, you’ll know that Manchester United have spent an awful lot of time trying to lure Frenkie de Jong to Old Trafford.
The transfer pendulum has swung back and forth. One day, De Jong to United feels like a done deal. The next, the Dutchman is digging his heels in and trying to remain an FC Barcelona player.
It’s AS who provides the latest information after a relatively quiet few days on the De Jong front. Sadly, it’s terrible news for those United fans who want the club to sign the midfielder.
According to the report, Barcelona manager Xavi is aware that some players will have to be moved on in order to balance the books.
Amongst that group is De Jong, who is currently receiving around a 33% reduction in his wages in an effort to help Barca get through this difficult time.
AS state that this week, Xavi decided to ‘take the bull by the horns’ and speak with the midfielder to make his intentions clear.
To start, Xavi stressed that he is ‘counting on’ De Jong and he is a ‘valid player’ for the ‘project’. The gaffer also stressed an intention to play De Jong in a different position as he’s struggling to earn starts in midfield. During the last two friendlies, the Dutchman has been deployed as a centre-half.
However, Xavi also exposed a harsh reality. If De Jong wants to remain at the Catalan club, he has to take a further financial pay cut, lowering his wages by half.
Here’s where the blow comes for United. Apparently, both parties left the meeting feeling ‘very satisified’, while ‘everything indicates that the top Reds target will make that effort to stay put and take the wage decrease.
The verdict
I get that Erik ten Hag views De Jong as the top priority and ideal player for this system. However, there’s only so long United can dump time and money into chasing a lost cause.
It seems pretty clear that the Dutchman wants to stay at Barca. Even if the Reds could force De Jong through the door, his commitment to the project just isn’t there.
Why not go after players like Ruben Neves or Youri Tielemans? Both would represent cheaper alternatives. Both may actually want to make the move to the Theatre of Dreams…
Do you think Man United should now move on to other targets? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.
How can Barca sign more player’s when they cant pay the one’s they have and go deeper into debt.
We cannot understand how this transfer saga goes on. All we hear is that Man.Utd are signing so many players everyone of them good ones but if they can sign so many, how come for One player, they keep on waiting for the price tag to go down? They are still struggling for Frankie De jong and also Antony of Ajax.