Barcelona are being urged to ‘take’ the money and run if Premier League giants Manchester United return with a big bid for Frenkie de Jong this summer.
Just last week, Blaugrana director Deco expressed serious reservations about the potential sales of Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong, both of whom have been linked with Manchester United with varying degrees of seriousness over the last few windows.
Deco even admitted that, if offered the chance to bring in one Kylian Mbappe with the proceeds made via the sale of two key players, he would still opt to retain the services of the Uruguayan centre-half and the club’s metronomic midfielder.
Erik ten Hag is a huge Frenkie de Jong fan
That stance is likely to be challenged in the coming months, however. Not because Mbappe is potentially on his way to the Camp Nou – the superstar Frenchman seems destined to end up at Real Madrid if he does indeed depart Paris Saint-Germain – but because the prospect of further financial problems leaves a smell of blood in the air, vultures flocking to Catalonia in search of a few tasty morsels.
According to Mundo Deportivo, De Jong is yet to sign a new contract that was offered to him three months ago. Rumours linking Erik ten Hag’s former Ajax playmaker with a move to Old Trafford have reared their head again too, with La Liga expert Terry Gibson believing that – contrary to Deco’s own claims – Barcelona would jump at the chance to cash in should the opportunity arise.
“(De Jong is) a good player. But, when I’m looking at reports linking him with Chelsea and United for £70 – £80 million… yeah, take it,” Gibson, who represented the Red Devils in the 1980s, tells El Tel and Jon’s La Liga Weekly podcast.
“He’s an elite player. He costs a lot of money. I saw him linked with Chelsea at the weekend for £70 – £80 million, and I can’t see (Barcelona) turning that down.”
Manchester United missed out in 2022
According to The Athletic, Man United agreed a fee of £63 million with the Blaugrana back in 2022, De Jong eventually turning down the chance to reunite with Ten Hag in England’s north west. But, with the Netherlands international yet to sign fresh terms at the reigning Spanish champions, it appears that he may be a little more open to a new challenge than he was two years previously.
“In the past, he didn’t want to leave,” Gibson adds. “So it might be difficult to move him on. They would have loved to move him on and get his wages off the books.”
Thanks to the emergence of Kobbie Mainoo and the big-money signing of the admittedly-still-crocked Mason Mount, a new midfielder may not be quite so high up on United’s summer shopping list these days. That could change, however, if Ineos opt to move on from the ageing Casemiro and Christian Eriksen while sending Sofyan Amrabat back to Fiorentina.
United are, interestingly, being linked with another of Ten Hag’s former Ajax stars. Matthijs de Ligt, HITC understands, is unhappy with life at Bayern Munich.
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