Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag would still “love” to have Frenkie de Jong in his squad, but a transfer remains impossible unless the Barcelona midfielder decides he wants the move, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Writing in his exclusive Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside, Romano admitted that De Jong is still a player Ten Hag really admires, but the key thing is that De Jong would need to tell his current club that he wants to leave.
The Netherlands international was linked with Man Utd for so much of last summer, but a deal never materialised as his preference was to stay at the Nou Camp, so it remains to be seen if that has changed since then, or could change in the coming months.
United ended up making alternative signings in midfield, bringing in Christian Eriksen and Casemiro, so Ten Hag might now feel he has enough quality in that area of the pitch.
Still, it seems Romano expects the Red Devils boss would still want De Jong as well, which makes sense as the former Ajax man looks a perfect fit for this team’s style of play.
“Erik ten Hag loves Frenkie de Jong, we know that very well,” Romano said.
“It’s normal he’d love to have Frenkie at Man United but I always mention the same thing since last June: it’s on Frenkie to decide his future, and at the moment he has not told Barca that he wants to leave.
“He’s happy in Barcelona and so there are no changes at this stage.”