A number of Manchester United supporters would prefer to see the club strengthen their midfield options with Jude Bellingham rather than Frenkie de Jong.
As reported by the Manchester Evening News , United, who will resume their campaign at home to Burnley in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening, are open to the prospect of making fresh moves for them. The Reds, following Erik ten Hag's appointment as manager, identified Barcelona ace De Jong as their leading transfer target throughout the summer window.
United first signalled their interest in the Netherlands international in May and were keen to sign him throughout the summer, so much so that their pursuit lasted for more than 100 days. The Reds, at the end of June, agreed a fee with the La Liga giants to sign the midfielder but saw the deal break down because of a dispute over unpaid wages at the Barcelona end of the deal.
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Ten Hag had worked with De Jong at Ajax and considered him as the perfect candidate to strengthen the Reds' midfield options and add a degree of control to it. United, of course, changed tact in their pursuit of a midfielder once it became clear they were getting nowhere with their pursuit of the Dutchman, instead choosing to sign Casemiro from Real Madrid, despite him being a different kind of midfield player.
The Brazilian has since flourished at Old Trafford, becoming a stalwart figure in Ten Hag's plans, working alongside Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes in midfield. Ten Hag, though, remains interested in De Jong, believing that he would add even more control to the Reds' midfield options.
Ten Hag, though, is also understood to be a huge admirer of Borussia Dortmund and England star Bellingham. The 19-year-old, who stared for the Three Lions at the World Cup in Qatar, visited United's Carrington training base back in March 2020, as the Reds looked to win the race for his signature, just months before he completed a £25million move to Germany.
He has since excelled at Dortmund, becoming one of the most exciting youngsters on the planet, meaning Ten Hag is understood to have told confidants that if he could sign any player in the world it would be him. Both De Jong and Bellingham, although United have no chance of signing either of them simultaneously, would sufficiently upgrade the Reds' midfield options, such is their respective levels of world-class talent.
But if it boiled down to a choice between the pair of them, United's supporters appear to be leaning more in the direction of Bellingham. Below, MEN Sport has taken a close look at what they have had to say:
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