It is being reported that Manchester United has rekindled their interest in Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong ahead of the summer transfer window. There was a lot of talk this past summer about the Dutchman joining the Red Devils.
De Jong, a 25-year-old soccer player who wanted to stay at Camp Nou, turned down the offer from Erik ten Hag’s team. Despite the Blaugrana’s willingness to sell him due to their limited resources, that was the case. Since then, he has been very important for Xavi’s team. He has played 31 games in competitions and helped with two goals.
According to the Guardian, Manchester United are interested in re-signing De Jong, and Ten Hag wants to reunite with the former Ajax midfielder. Given that the player is content at Barcelona, it is unknown if he will consider leaving. De Jong stated to ESPN last summer that he would prefer to remain with the giants of the La Liga when asked about the Red Devils’ interest:
“I prefer to stay with Barcelona,” declares “Barcelona is just my dream club.”
The Dutchman made the decision to move from Ajax to the Blaugrana for €86 million in 2019. That was the case, despite the interest of Manchester United and Manchester City at the time. Since then, he has played for the La Liga team in 171 games, assisting on 19 goals and scoring 15 of them.
De Jong appeared in Barcelona’s 4-3 defeat to Ten Witch’s team at Old Trafford just seven days earlier in the UEFA Europa Association End of Season games. Under United’s current coach at Ajax, the midfielder scored three goals and had four assists in 59 games across all competitions. He won the KNVB Cup and the Eredivisie under the Dutch coach. In addition, he was a member of the Ajax team that reached the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League in 2019.
Christian Eriksen could be fired from his position at Manchester United if Barcelona signs De Jong:
Manchester United will need to make room for De Jong if he is persuad to join the Red Devils this summer. In the midfield of Ten Hag’s team, Casemiro, Eriksen, and Fred, among others, have stood out this season. Eriksen was a regular starter for United before suffering an ankle injury in January. At the very least, he won’t be back until the end of April.
On Rio Ferdinand’s Vibe with FIVE podcast, Danny Murphy, a former Liverpool midfielder, stated that if De Jong arrives, he anticipates that Eriksen will be drop. According to De Jong, he stated, “In effect, Christian Eriksen would play alongside Casemiro, and Eriksen would be use more as a team player.”
Eriksen has made 31 appearances in various competitions, netting two goals and nine assists. Murphy went on to say that United selected the Dane because of his originality: Because they are both creative, they probably chose Eriksen over De Jong. De Jong is more athletic and slightly better at receiving the ball, despite their similarity.