Manchester United have not forgotten about Barcelona midfielder, could make summer move

The massive delirium surrounding Manchester United’s takeover continues to grab everyone’s attention and amidst all that, the team from the Premier League still has not forgotten about a certain Frenkie de Jong.

As journalist Rob Dawson writes for ESPN, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has smartly played down the consequences of a future takeover so far, but he will want to know how much money can he spend in the summer transfer market.

All this because the Dutchman’s priority at Old Trafford is to sign a top-class centre forward and elite midfielders for the next season. As Dawson reports, the likes of Frenkie de Jong and Jude Bellingham continue to top his list.

Now, the issue with Bellingham is that Real Madrid and Manchester City are two giants that want him in the summer. Considering their stature in European football at the moment, United understand a bidding war would exhaust the budget altogether.

As far as de Jong is concerned, their interest in the former Ajax midfielder goes back to the summer of 2022. During his first-ever transfer window, ten Hag roped in several Ajax personnel, including Lisandro Martinez and Antony.

The Red Devils also made several approaches for de Jong but the lack of Champions League football forced them to look elsewhere. Back then, it was believed that they had a principal agreement in place with Barça mostly because the Blaugrana were struggling to get their finances back on track.

Destiny as one may call it, Barcelona were demoted to the UEFA Europa League this season and were, in fact, eliminated from the competition at hands of United. In any way, despite initial difficulties, de Jong proved to be an important part, especially in the second half of the season.

For the moment, Barcelona have absolutely no reasons to part ways with de Jong. And if they are forced to seek a departure to accommodate a new midfielder, quite possibly Ilkay Gundogan, Franck Kessie’s name is expected to pop right up.