Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong is not currently interested in leaving the club amid renewed transfer interest from Manchester United but that stance may change over the coming months, it has been claimed.
De Jong is said to lead United’s summer transfer shortlist with his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag keen to bolster his midfield ranks. He believes the Dutchman would be the perfect compliment for Christian Eriksen and Casemiro, of whom De Jong is a huge admirer.
United had an initial transfer fee of £56.2million agreed with Barca last summer to sign the 25-year-old but no deal came to fruition as the player wished to remain at the Camp Nou. De Jong remains the highest earning player at the Catalan giants.
De Jong has increasingly been at odds with the club's board this season including criticising them for leaking his contract details last summer and he has refused Barca’s latest attempt to persuade the midfielder to reduce his salary.
As reported in December by Sport, the club made a fresh approach to the former Ajax ace to request once again that he reduces his salary – but that attempt is unlikely to be successful. Barcelona need to reduce their current salary outgoings of €600million to €400m for next season, in order to register new players and any new contracts.
The same outlet now describes that Barca will resist interest in the midfielder this summer and knock down bids for him at the insistence of Xavi Hernandez. It remains to be seen if this is at odds with the club’s financial situation and may be dependent upon other market moves.
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Ten Hag said of De Jong ahead of facing Barcelona last month in the Europa League knockout stage: “In 2019, there was a lot of fascination with that Ajax team. Frenkie brought a lot of that fascination and he has developed over the following years in Spain.
“He's a fantastic player and has become even better. Playing out from the back, he always has time. It was a pleasure working with him. He would strengthen any squad in the world. He's got unique quality.”
De Jong played both games for the Blaugrana as they were eliminated from the Europa League and there is a belief in the United camp that the midfielder seeing directly the level of United and the feel-good factor around Old Trafford could help persuade him in a future approach.
The continued prominence of Pedri and Gavi means that De Jong is unlikely to be a guaranteed starter, particularly with the presence of Franck Kessie, the emergence of Pablo Torre and the likelihood that Sergio Busquets will pen a new contract. De Jong will stay enjoy plenty of game-time, but Barca are not short of midfield options.
After missing out on a move for De Jong, United moved to sign Casemiro from Real Madrid having also added central midfielder Christian Eriksen. The club have also added Marcel Sabitzer on loan from Bayern Munich until the end of the campaign due to an injury to the Dane.
