YouTuber Mark Goldbridge has claimed that Manchester United will definitely try and sign Frenkie de Jong this summer but it could be “problematic” to know that already.
What’s the latest on Frenkie de Jong to Man United?
In the summer, the Red Devils were strongly linked with the Dutch midfielder but after a summer of doubt, he ended up remaining in Spain.
However, the latest news coming out of Barcelona suggests that the La Liga outfit may have to raise £178m in player sales if they want to be active in the upcoming transfer window.
Amid all that, The Guardian now report that Man Utd are ready to rekindle their interest in De Jong even though the midfielder is happy where he is right now.
While speaking about these developments on The United Stand, Goldbridge stated why he thinks the club will definitely chase a summer deal.
He explained (8:35): “Look, it’s one of the easiest predictions to make that Man United will try and sign Frenkie de Jong. Because everybody knows, everybody knows that Manchester United are obsessed, Erik ten Hag is obsessed with Frenkie de Jong.
“So we’re going to try and sign him. Whether we get him or not, flip a coin in the air and see which way it lands. But we will go for Frenkie de Jong.
“And in some ways, that’s useful to know. In other ways, it could be problematic. But we at least do know what the target is going to be in the summer.
“I think sometimes people start talking about players and it’s like: ‘Oh, you know it could happen. It could happen’. But we know we’re going to try for Frenkie de Jong. Whether we can get the deal done or not, I don’t know.”
What do the De Jong links mean for MUFC?
Seeing as De Jong has already played 59 times for Ten Hag across the span of his career, it’s not hard to see why he has been linked with a move to Man Utd since the Dutchman arrived in the Premier League. However, as Goldbridge alludes to, these rumours could be a little problematic for a number of reasons.
First, United were close to signing the player all last summer but it developed into a distracting saga and the player stayed put. Seeing as he is happy in Barcelona still, there is no guarantee the same wouldn’t just happen in the next transfer window too.
Beyond that, seeing as Barca are more than aware of the Red Devils’ strong interest, this could weaken United’s position when it comes to negotiating a transfer fee (as well as wages for the player). After all, it’s essentially public knowledge that the club are desperate for the player to arrive – or “obsessed” as Goldbridge puts it – so the selling club may feel as though they can slap an eye-watering price-tag on their asset.
All in all, it sounds as though we’re set for another summer of De Jong links to Manchester United whether we like it or not.
