The likelihood of Frenkie de Jong and Cristiano Ronaldo sharing a dressing room next season appears to be growing, which is welcome news for Manchester United fans, especially as the former thinks the latter is a "top player".
Manchester United are rumoured to have finally agreed a fee with Barcelona for the Dutchman's services, with the figure thought to be £65million with add-ons. The two teams have been in negotiations ever since the window opened earlier this month and it has taken some effort to finally reach this point.
New manager Erik ten Hag is a driving force in United's interest, given he coached De Jong at Ajax and oversaw some of the best form of the midfielder's career in the Dutch capital. The Red Devils boss harbours aspirations of building his entire midfield around the Netherlands international.
The 25-year-old is widely viewed as one of the most technically gifted central midfielders on the continent. Plying his trade once for Ajax and now for Barcelona, his precision passing and excellent control have been harnessed by operating in two of the most possession-based teams in Europe.
Despite his switch to the Camp Nou, De Jong's finest hour in terms of achievement is the contribution he played to guiding Ajax to the last four of the 2018/19 Champions League final. Beating some of Europe's big-hitters such as Real Madrid and Juventus before eventually losing in dramatic fashion to Tottenham in the semi-final.
Prior to that last eight meeting against Juventus, De Jong had nothing but positive words to say about the five-time Ballon d'Or winner who could potentially be a future teammate. The odds were stacked against Ajax, but Ronaldo was an injury concern before the game and De Jong addressed that in his media duties by praising the Portugal skipper.
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"I hope that Cristiano Ronaldo has recovered from his injury and plays," De Jong told De Telegraaf in 2019. "He's a top player and although the chances of us winning are greater [if Juventus] are without him, I want to play against and beat the best players."
As is often the case, Ronaldo was declared fit and immediately showed why he remains one of the most lethal marksman in the game by putting Juventus in front before they were eventually pegged back and drew the game 1-1. He notched another in the second leg, but it wasn't enough as Ajax ran out 2-1 winners on the night and 3-2 aggregate winners.
De Jong's remarks take on a whole new meaning now he could be playing alongside Ronaldo at Old Trafford. The 37-year-old notched 24 goals across all competitions last season - a figure that could only rise if he has a mercurial playmaker like De Jong operating behind him next term.
Some would argue Ronaldo did incredibly well to achieve that tally last term with the amount of underperforming stars around him. De Jong could bring out an even better return from United's talisman next season should he finally put pen to paper on a deal sealing his Old Trafford switch.
