Barcelona ace Frenkie de Jong was heavily linked with Manchester United in the summer of 2022 and has been reminded of the club’s longstanding interest ahead of the January window.
The midfielder was seemingly in a prime position on top of Erik ten Hag’s shortlist when he arrived at Old Trafford from Ajax and looked to kickstart his squad overhaul.
United and Barcelona went as far as agreeing a £69 million package that would’ve seen De Jong reunite with his former coach, and while the Spanish giants accepting United’s proposal was a significant breakthrough in negotiations, a deal ultimately failed to materialise.
In the end, it came down to the Netherlands international’s reluctance to depart Catalonia. There was simply no convincing that Ten Hag could do to try and lure De Jong’s talents away from the Camp Nou and United were forced to acquire alternatives, continuing their search in Spain and signing Real Madrid stalwart Casemiro.
De Jong reacts to United interest
There’s been little talk of the Reds reigniting a pursuit of the 26-year-old as of late, but a journalist did comment on the prospect of it in a recent interview with De Jong.
He told NOS (as cited by Fabrizio Romano) that he was at the club of his dreams in the form of the reigning La Liga champions, but when pushed on links with United and a new league bringing “new impulses”, De Jong responded: “Possibly. But I’m very satisfied at Barca. It’s always difficult to say… for now I feel good here!”
