Manchester United may have suffered a final blow in an ongoing pursuit of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
Last summer’s transfer business was dominated by a failed pursuit of Barcelona ace Frenkie de Jong. A move this summer is increasingly unlikely.
ESPN reported last month that Manchester United could revisit De Jong. But news coming out of Barcelona could render this impossible.
This is in relation to departure of sporting director Mathieu Alemany, one of the top backers to sell the Dutchman.
Mathieu Alemany wanted to sell Frenkie de Jong
Manchester United’s hopes of signing Frenkie de Jong this summer were pretty low anyway, given the midfielder’s express desire to stay put at Barcelona.
Alemany’s departure from the club appears to be the final nail in United’s hopes of landing the star.
The sporting director has left Barcelona, and is set to link up with Unai Emery at Aston Villa.
Spanish newspaper Sport report on how Alemany losing the power struggle at Barcelona has now left Frenkie de Jong’s position at the club stronger.
The report states: “Alemany was also a supporter of the sale of Frenkie De Jong last summer, having reached a pre-agreement with Manchester United. President Laporta, on the other hand, rowed to fulfill the player’s wish to stay at Barça.”
Manchester United had negotiated a £63 million agreement with Barcelona to sign De Jong, with the La Liga side open to selling stars to raise funds.
De Jong dug in and refused to leave. Whether his motivations were financial, sporting, or simply down to preferring living in Spain, he got his way.
Manchester United would be better off avoiding De Jong totally this summer and giving a rehashed pursuit of the star a wide berth.
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