Rio Ferdinand has claimed Sir Alex Ferguson would have walked away from the Frenkie de Jong deal weeks ago after the midfielder made it clear he doesn't want to leave Barcelona for Manchester United.
United agreed a fee with the Catalan giants back in June for the services of De Jong. However, due to issues regarding wage deferrals, the Dutch midfielder is unwilling to leave Camp Nou.
Despite this, United continue to chase the signature of the 25-year-old. That being said, MEN Sport understands that the club have reluctantly started to pursue alternative options.
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Adrien Rabiot looks as though he could be on his way to Old Trafford. Meanwhile, the Manchester Evening News also understands United are weighing up a move for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
And Ferdinand has claimed United should have already pulled the plug on their De Jong pursuit. Speaking on the Vibe with Five podcast, Ferdinand said: "We’re not in the market for the top players.
"We’re going out and we’re waiting for three-and-a-half months to sign Frenkie de Jong. With all due respect, he’s a great player, but we’re almost whoring ourselves out for this player for three months of the transfer window with our cap in hand begging, 'please come to us'."
He continued: "I think Ten Hag is sitting there thinking, 'this has been a complete shambles for me because I came in expecting to really revamp this first team with about five or six players that I believe could change our fortunes or give us a better opportunity of being a better team'.
"And he’s struggling to get over the line and his main target [De Jong], they’ve not got anywhere near it. And we’re still there, 'please give us one chance'. How are we putting ourselves in that position? How are we allowing ourselves to be put in a position like that? Do you think Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola or Six Alex Ferguson or Jose Mourinho would be following around a player like this? They wouldn’t be doing that.
"You don’t want to come to us? Right, go away, go about your business, good luck to you, move onto the next target. It frustrates the life out of me."
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