Aheed Abrar
Chelsea and Manchester United still keeping tabs on Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong
Manchester United are still monitoring the situation of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong after failing to pursue his signature in the summer transfer window.
The Red Devils and Chelsea were the sides in England vying for the Holland international’s signature. However, the 25-year-old had made up his mind to remain with the Catalans.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano told Caught Offside (h/t Express), that the talks around De Jong have toned down for now. Any updates in this regard will only be clear in some months’ time.
“So far the situation is totally quiet. Frenkie wanted to stay at Barca and therefore there are no immediate updates.
“Certainly Man United and Chelsea will monitor the situation but they know that De Jong only wanted Barca with great clarity all summer. It will take months before we understand the next developments.”
Erik ten Hag wanted a reunion with the former Ajax star. However, De Jong was not keen on moving to Manchester. Chelsea also looked at the Holland international to bolster their midfield options.
However, in the end, the 25-year-old got his wish. De Jong only wanted to remain at Barcelona and the end of the transfer window ensured the Holland international’s will.
Romano reveals United were pushing to make De Jong reconsider his decision to remain at the Camp Nou. Subsequently, when a deal could not materialise, the Red Devils decided to bring in Casemiro.
“He’s happy with life in Barcelona, his girlfriend is happy there. He made it clear he wanted to stay.
“United were just hoping that Frenkie would change his mind. Sometimes to sign top players you need to be patient, to wait and see if Frenkie was going to change his mind. But it never happened, and this is why they decided to invest big money on Casemiro.”
Under Ten Hag, United had a grim start to the campaign. The Old Trafford side lost the first two fixtures against Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford. Man United were poor from back to front and ti was clear that a lack of balance was present.
Following the results, fingers were pointed at the lack of quality in the middle of the park. Fred and McTominay had poor showings. However, since then, the Red Devils have gone on a four-game win streak, beating the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal.
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How the De Jong situation transpires remains to be seen. It will be interesting to see whether United will pursue the Holland international once again in the coming windows.
