Frenkie de Jong admits he is “flattered” by Manchester United interest
Barcelona and Netherlands star Frenkie de Jong has admitted he is “flattered” by the interest shown in him from Manchester United.
The Red Devils are set for a squad overhaul this summer following the appointment of former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag, whom De Jong worked with in Amsterdam as the duo famously guided the club to the 2018/19 Champions League semi-finals.
That campaign, in which Ajax claimed the scalps of Real Madrid and Juventus before losing to Tottenham in the penultimate round, prompted Barcelona to secure the services of De Jong, where the metronomic midfielder has gone on to make 140 appearances for them
Despite some initial teething issues, De Jong has found a stable and consistent home in the heart of Barcelona’s midfield, but links to Old Trafford have naturally surfaced this summer with his old boss relocating to the North West of England.
Man Utd will be in desperate need of central midfield reinforcements this summer with Paul Pogba set to leave the club and Nemanja Matic recently completing a switch to Roma, and De Jong is seen as the ideal candidate to revolutionise a problem position for the club.
Following the Netherlands’ recent 3-2 Nations League win over Wales, De Jong was quizzed on Man Utd’s interest in him, to which he responded: “You’re always flattered when teams show interest in you as a player but I am at the biggest club in the world at the moment and I feel fine there, so no news.”
It was only last month that Barca manager Xavi waxed lyrical about De Jong and stated the importance of the 25-year-old to his system, appearing to pour cold water on suggestions that he could leave this summer.
Xavi stated: “For me he is a very important player. He has been a starter almost all the time.
“He is a fundamental footballer but then there is the economic situation, on which we all depend.
“We need to know the financial situation in order to make some decisions and then we will take one decision or another – I don’t mean with Frenkie – I mean in general.
“He is a player that I like a lot, but we will see what the situation is.”
