It had appeared to be a wrap for Manchester United vis-à-vis the Frenkie de Jong deal after the club had reached an agreement with Barcelona, but the Dutch midfielder has reportedly been refusing to budge, a situation unbeknownst to parties outside of both clubs all this while.
United’s pursuit of the highly rated midfielder is said to have undergone a ‘tense’ twist that may not have been as sudden as it now looks, following reports that de Jong had all the while not entertained any notions to leave his beloved Camp Nou.
Despite the Red Devils haggling for weeks now and finally appearing to see the silver lining in the dark clouds and made a breakthrough after striking an initial £56million agreement with the Blaugranas – a figure that could potentially escalate to £70m due to add-ons. The 25-year-old had been expected to sign a five-year deal worth a nifty £250,000-a-week with the cash-strapped Catalan club eagerly seeking to offload one of their most expensive assets.
De Jong had seemed to be the first signing to kickstart new boss Erik ten Hag’s summer of needful, desperate indulgent spending at Old Trafford. Unfortunately the stuffing has now been knocked out of the pudding and a massive spanner has again been thrown into the works with the Netherlands international remaining largely unconvinced.
SPORT reports that the situation between United and Barcelona has grown increasingly tense as the player seems determined to plant both feet onto the ground to make a name for himself with the Blaugranas, with the Spanish outlet claiming the midfielder sees no reason whatsoever to depart the Nou Camp club this summer and his obdurate stance is proving to be problematic. The deal clearly cannot be sealed without de Jong himself nodding acquiescence.
Apparently De Jong had even from the onset made known to both clubs his sentiments and is said to stick resolutely to his stance no matter how much pressure is placed upon him. It is also believed that the former Ajax star has grown frustrated with his agent, Ali Dursun, who for his part remains intent on pushing through a deal.
De Jong fondly referred to Barcelona as “the club of my dreams since I was little” at the end of May and it appears he won’t give up on making his mark in Spain without a fight. However, from a United and Barcelona standpoint, this wouldn’t be to the advantage of both clubs as a deal would be highly beneficial, not to mention much needed at this moment in time.
United are in dire need of a massive shake-up in the center of the squad and new manager Ten Hag has clearly zeroed in on De Jong as his top midfield target. Barcelona themselves could gleefully do with the transfer going through as they are certainly in no situation to turn their nose down at funds, being currently crippled by their long-going financial crisis and finding themselves unable to refresh their squad this summer unless significant funds are raised through high-profile player sales.
The Catalans are also hell bent on slashing their wage bill, and letting go of De Jong – one of the club’s highest earners – from the current crop would go some way to restore some balance in the books, at least.