Aheed Abrar
Frenkie de Jong likely to stay at Barcelona as Manchester United give up on pursuit for midfielder
Manchester United target Frenkie de Jong is likely to stay at Barcelona this summer amidst transfer speculation to the Premier League, according to CBS Sports’ Ben Jacobs on Twitter.
Erik ten Hag has been seemingly keen on the 25-year-old since arriving in the Old Trafford dugout. However, the Red Devils have virtually resigned to the possibility of not getting the Holland international this transfer window. The Manchester-based club have not made a ‘new offensive’ to sign him.
Other English clubs such as Chelsea and Liverpool have also been linked with De Jong. However, the Blues haven’t made any further progress either, while the Merseysiders are looking at other options.
The middle of the park has been a point of contention for United fans, who feel some of the current players aren’t up to the club’s standards. However, we have brought in quality midfield additions in Christian Erik and Casemiro.
The summer saw a mass exodus of midfielders from Old Trafford. Paul Pogba was one of the side’s talismans and the Frenchman left the club for free and joined Juventus. We have also parted ways with Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Andreas Pereira.
For most of the previous campaign and the start of the 2022/23 season, Fred and Scott McTominay have played regularly for United. However, the two leave a lot to be desired.
The Brazilian and Scotland internationals haven’t been able to convince supporters of their quality over the years. After the first fixture of the campaign against Brighton & Hove Albion, Fred and McTominay received a lot of criticism.
Since then, the duo haven’t started together in the new gaffer’s XI. Eriksen has been trusted to play in a deeper role while Bruno Fernandes has played as our number 10.
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De Jong is one of the biggest talents in world football. The Dutch midfielder has played under Ten Hag previously at Ajax and shone. However, it looks like a reunion is not on the cards this summer.
