Barcelona’s director of football Mateu Alemany claims the club have yet to make a decision on Frenkie de Jong’s future.
The Netherlands international has been strongly linked with a move to Manchester United since Erik ten Hag’s appointment as manager, although Fabrizio Romano has suggested in a recent CaughtOffside column that the midfielder’s preference would be to join a team that has secured Champions League football for next season.
That’s not good news for United, with the Red Devils clinging on to a Europa League spot, but hopefully Ten Hag can persuade De Jong to move to Old Trafford in the summer.
Of course, that’s if Barcelona decide to cash in to finance moves for their current targets.
With Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic, among others, set to leave the club at the end of the season, United will be left short of options in midfield and its an area that already needs to be improved.
Barcelona manager Xavi has made it clear that he wants to keep De Jong at Camp Nou, but he suggested that the matter was out of his hands. Now Alemany has said that the club has yet to decide on the midfielder’s future.
“We haven’t made any decisions on the squad, De Jong is important for us,” Alemany said, as quoted by Fabrizio Romano. “We are clear about what we need, and also that we are conditioned by financial fair play.”
De Jong’s contract at Barcelona runs until 2026, so it’s not like Barcelona are under significant pressure to sell him this summer, but they may decide should it helps them finance new recruits in the transfer market.
Like every top club in Europe, I’m sure the La Liga giants plan on adding new recruits to try bolster their squad, especially watching rivals Real Madrid reach the Champions League and win the league title.
Let us know in the comments section below if you think United should make a move for De Jong?
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