Though Manchester United have failed in their pursuit of Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong in recent years, it certainly hasn’t been down for a want of trying.
The Red Devils have had a long-standing interest in the Netherlands international, mainly due to the close relationship between De Jong and now-sacked-manager Erik ten Hag.
Ten Hag, while he was still at United, had identified the defensive midfielder – who he coached as Ajax – as one of his top targets, however a move to Old Trafford never came to fruition.
Now, according to The Athletic, it’s been revealed the extent to which United tried to convince the 27-year-old to make a move to Manchester back in 2022.
The outlet claim that United went as far as making a video of De Jong mocked up next to some of their club legends in an attempt to persuade him to join.
Manchester United have been keen on signing Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong in recent years
Former United boss Erik ten Hag had earmarked De Jong as one of his top transfer targets
However, the report then went onto claim that De Jong never even saw the video.
The 27-year-old previously moved to the LaLiga club for an initial £64m in 2019 and has endured a mixed time of things playing for Barcelona, who have been plagued by off-field issues in recent years.
De Jong is also believed to be Barcelona’s top earner where he earns a reported £30m-per-season that would potentially rise even further if a move to the Premier League is agreed.
It’s been argued that not signing a top defensive midfielder had hindered Ten Hag’s progress at United, prior to the arrival of Manuel Ugarte this summer.
In the wake of Ten Hag’s departure at United, reports revealed three other names – in addition to De Jong – that the Dutchman had singled out as top transfer targets.
According to ESPN, Ten Hag was frustrated that the club failed to sign De Jong, Alexis Mac Allister, Federico Valverde and Harry Kane.
The report further claims that United’s chiefs found his demands to be ‘unrealistic’.
De Jong and Ten Hag have a close relationship after working together at Dutch giants Ajax
United’s interest in Harry Kane was well known but, instead, they opted to sign Rasmus Hojlund while the England captain joined Bayern Munich.
In April last year, rumours suggested that United were keen on signing Mac Allister, who was starring for Brighton at the time, but, instead, the midfielder moved to Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Valverde has remained firmly at Madrid, likely due to his high wage and the immense transfer fee it would take to prize him away from the Bernabeu.
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