Barcelona set asking price for midfielder Frenkie de Jong as new manager Erik ten Hag eyes Manchester United reunion
According to Spanish television show El Chiringuito TV (h/t Metro), Manchester United are preparing to reunite incoming new manager Erik ten Hag with Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong, and have been told the price they must pay to secure his service.
de Jong moved to Barcelona in 2019 from Ajax, where he was a regular feature in the team under the tutelage of ten Hag. Together, the pair helped the Amsterdam side win a domestic double in the player’s final season, securing the Eredivisie league title and lifting the KNVB Cup trophy.
The Holland international was also instrumental in the young team ten Hag assembled during their remarkable run in the Champions League in 2019, reaching the semi-finals of the competition and earning plaudits for their brand of football.
That Ajax team consisted of stars like de Jong, Donny van de Beek, Hakim Ziyech, and Matthijs de Ligt, who have all since left the club. In fact, van de Beek currently plies his trade with United, where ten Hag will be joining in the summer.
Barca preparing to cash in
The new Red Devils manager is eying a rebuild in Manchester and has identified his former player de Jong as a possible transfer target in the upcoming transfer window. If the English side does make a move for the player, it is said that Barcelona will not turn them down.
Their head coach Xavi is looking to sign a number of new players, and the Catalan club are prepared to cash in de Jong as they try to increase their transfer kitty through player sales. Barca have set a price tag of £58m for their midfielder’s services, taking a small hit from the £65m fee they paid for him just three years ago.
The La Liga’s club reduced the asking price for the 24-year-old and the fact they are willing to take a loss on the player shows how relatively underwhelming he has been in the past few years. That said, his quality is there to see whenever he takes to the pitch, which is what ten Hag will be hoping for.
The new United boss is well aware of what the midfielder is capable of, having developed him at close quarters while at Ajax. Now a regular Netherlands international, de Jong has grown in stature as a talented midfield option.
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The Old Trafford outfit are looking to sign at least two new midfielders in the summer transfer window, given the impending departures of Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba, with the latter looking increasingly likely to leave the club for free for the second time.
One of them could be de Jong, which would see him reunite with van de Beek and ten Hag in England. If so, United fans can perhaps dream of the trio replicating some of their magic from Ajax during their incredible 2018/19 season.