Although Man Utd is not holding anything back in negotiations with Barcelona on Frenkie de Jong, they cannot justify the expense of another protracted expedition this summer.
Frenkie de Jong, the midfielder who is thought to hold the key to Erik ten Hag’s Old Trafford renovation, has barely moved since the transfer window opened 17 days ago. The 25-year-old has to be introduced to the new manager, who views him as essential to carrying out his philosophy on a team that has desperately needed one for the previous two or three seasons.
Whatever the case, the debate over De Jong has been advancing slowly. Barcelona is aware of the extent United will go to acquire him, but United is also aware of how desperately Barcelona needs the cash. While neither of the gatherings has squinted up to this point, perhaps this week will mark a turning point. A trade made before Thursday, when Barcelona’s bookkeeping time with La Liga expires, will be lucrative.
In any event, it would be shocking and embarrassing if United didn’t sign De Jong. However, because this transfer saga has dragged on for so long, supporters will be just as excited as fans to welcome the Dutch midfielder to the team.
Allies are currently hoping for immediate results. Christian Eriksen has been the subject of discussions regarding a free transfer, but because to Joined’s significant but limited spending this summer, they have instead concentrated on a deal for De Jong before evaluating their options.
United will look to strengthen their offense after a deal for De Jong is finalized, and Ten Hag might seek to sign Antony, another player from Ajax who he is well familiar with and who is still currently playing his football in Amsterdam.
There are now matches related to the search for De Jong. The £69 million asking price from Ajax for a 22-year-old player who genuinely has something to show is a challenge to overcome. With Jurrien Timber and Lisandro Martinez both being seen as in safety, Ajax needn’t deal with the money and they aren’t completely set in stone to refuse to compromise in order to prevent Ten Hag from focusing on some other former players.
Although it requires an investment through the window, hoping to complete the deal for De Jong first appears acceptable for United. However, the team is currently back for preseason, and they depart on visit seven. They have been preparing the groundwork for other likely arrangements in the background.
Given how close the departure date is, Ten Hag will want to have De Jong on the flight to Bangkok, but as far as new faces go, that might be it. Indeed, even that depends on advancements with the midfielder.
United’s approach of not making a concession for De Jong has some validity. They are attempting to disprove the claim that they overpaid for players and assert that had they reached an agreement earlier in the summer using the sums Barcelona was quoting, it would have had an impact on the finished assets.
De Jong would report for preseason training on Monday at the earliest, so there hasn’t been any time lost in terms of his ability to settle in quickly at United, but it has taken away from the time available for United to finalize more deals. The transfer window is still open until September 1, but by then the Premier League season will have already begun with five games, and with a new manager in place, it is crucial that any new debutants get a chance to settle in as quickly as is realistically possible.
When De Jong is targeted, it’s possible that business at United will pick up, but they must avoid engaging in another transfer adventure that takes a while to resolve.
Assuming that they continue on from De Jong to Antony and starting with one long-running pursuit then onto the next then it could become harming in this window.
