Man Utd have ‘special interest’ in signing £64m star player Ten Hag loves and wants him at Old Trafford

Man Utd have ‘special interest’ in signing £64m star player Ten Hag loves and wants him at Old Trafford

Manchester United’s first summer under Erik ten Hag was dominated by the desire to sign one player in particular, Frenkie de Jong.

Erik ten Hag showed a clear bias in his first transfer window at the helm of Manchester United, signing two Ajax players and attempting to sign a third former Ajax ace

Frenkie de Jong was the player he craved above anyone else, as the pair achieved a lot of success together at Ajax with Ten Hag praising him as an ‘incredible‘ midfielder.

But after a summer of chasing, ultimately the Dutchman proved unattainable and Casemiro was signed.

But now it seems a deal isn’t quite off the table. Here’s the latest on De Jong and United

Manchester United have a ‘special interest’ in Frenkie de Jong
United’s continued interest in De Jong has been mentioned by Spanish journalist Lluis Canut who was speaking on Esport3.

Here he claimed that United retain a ‘special interest’ in De Jong and the former Ajax star doesn’t rule out departing Barcelona in 2024.

The reason is that the £64m midfielder is disappointed with his situation at Barcelona

One reason a deal may be possible, or more likely than in 2022, is that De Jong is being paid chunks of the wages he is owed after he deferred to help the Catalan side financially. This season’s amount will be the most he will receive at £21.1m, according to Canut.

Although while De Jong’s situation has changed, so has United which could in theory make this move a lot less likely

United should pass on De Jong signing and grab a defensive midfielder instead
Two summers ago the United midfield was desolate of a player capable of taking control of a game in possession.

This is no longer the case, with Kobbie Mainoo shining right now, the arrival of De Jong would only leave one of them unhappy as the two together would likely be lacking the muscle and defensive doggedness required to be a transition team in the Premier League

Therefore, however much he’d cost – a lot – should instead be utilised on a partner for Mainoo in the mould of Casemiro who would compliment the 18-year-old Carrington gem.

Ineos and the experts they’re recruiting will likely see things the same way, with a proper plan likely to be in place with smart signings rather than players who ultimately don’t fit the club’s needs