Manchester United have endured an excruciating summer thus far and their start to the Premier League season has done little to ease fears among supporters.
A catastrophic first game against Brighton was followed by the worst 45 minutes in the club’s history in the competition six days later at Brentford.
Frenkie de Jong, the Barcelona midfielder, has been the subject of intense interest from United and the 25-year-old remains Erik ten Hag’s prime target.
Despite agreeing a deal with Barcelona over De Jong’s transfer last month, the player’s personal preference has been to stay at Barcelona but now, United have been dealt another blow in this torrid summer.
According to The Telegraph, in the event of an exit, De Jong would prefer to join rivals Chelsea, who are also interested in the former Ajax star.
Read more: (Video) Man Utd chief arrives at airport after showdown talks with midfield target
As per the report, De Jong has indicated that his preference would be a move to Chelsea rather than United if a transfer materialises before next month’s deadline.
The stability at Chelsea paired with the chance to play in the Champions League is said to be particularly pleasing to De Jong, who has spent the last three years at Barcelona.
SN’s verdict…
It just keeps getting worse for United but in truth, supporters have been bracing themselves for this for weeks. Their chase of De Jong always screamed of mediocrity and there was never any confidence they would actually pull it off.
Instead, they are left in a world of bother with weeks remaining of the window and Ten Hag’s squad is arguably worse than the one Ralf Rangnick was let down by.
Now, it’s up to the club to pick up the pieces of what remains of this transfer window and Ten Hag to work with whatever crumbs he’s dealt.
why is ten hag is dwelling on de Jong its pathetic clearly the player don’t want utd & they missed out on other players
man u is totally wrong to keep McGuire in the the side & dalot is not goid enough to defend wan basaka is better …. they need Anthony from Ajax & an out & out striker 4get de Jong there are other midfielders on the market
players don’t want utd because of Ronaldo
new manager same boring soccor
utd need a manager like gram Potter take a chance & give him the job
glaciers must sell they ruining the club with not backing up the manager for signings …… funds needed to buy the best
enough said
Glazers never put any money into united ask Neville he would tell yahh …. they the worst owners only business minded generating revenue through deals and merchandise (especially releasing new jerseys like wat monthly?? ive seen more ads than trophies these 10 years in united) they cant manage a football club no sporting director worst scouting team useless people in charge, SAF used to do all those jobs with his supportive team idk how he did it but i guess today was the day united lost everything i can see pain and tears in most fans especially those who had dorned that jersey
Tuchel has said that he isn’t interested in De Jong. This is Barcelona playing games.