Joan Laporta remains coy on Frenkie de Jong moving to Manchester United
When asked about the certainty of Frenkie de Jong not moving to Manchester United this summer, Barcelona president Joan Laporta didn’t deny the possibility of the Dutch midfielder leaving.
Speaking to CBS Sports Golazo, via transfer guru Fabrizio Romano via Twitter, when the Catalan club’s president was asked to categorically confirm that De Jong won’t join the Red Devils, Laporta said, “In football you never know”.
However, the head of the Blaugrana expressed his desire to keep the 25-year-old in Barcelona. He claimed there was a “strong possibility” of the Dutchman not leaving.
De Jong has been a target for United since the arrival of Erik ten Hag at the club. The Dutch manager has the midfielder in his team in Amsterdam. The duo were together when the gaffer coached Ajax.
The 25-year-old midfielder then moved to Barcelona in 2019. Since then, De Jong has evolved as a quality box-to-box midfielder. The Dutch national has shown the world why he was considered a top prospect in the Netherlands.
The Red Devils have a new manager in Ten Hag, known for his high pressing, attacking style of play. Most of our players will need time to settle into the new system and get up to speed with what the gaffer wants them to do.
We’ve signed Lisandro Martinez from Ajax. The Argentine is familiar with what Ten Hag is trying to do, having played under him for three seasons.
Under our previous managers, fans felt the team lacked an identity and were disjointed on the pitch. This makes the new gaffer’s job even more difficult.
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Having players in the team aware of the style naturally makes it easier for Ten Hag to coach. De Jong is the perfect midfielder in that sense.
