Manchester United have ‘maintained contact’ with Frenkie de Jong, with him ‘disgusted’ at the situation currently enveloping Barcelona.
That’s according to Sport, who stir up the hornet’s nest around the midfielder again today following Barcelona’s 3-3 draw with Inter Milan.
That result has left the Catalans on the verge of not qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages for a second straight year.
That would be a disaster to say the least and it seems De Jong, who featured in the game, isn’t very impressed with life at the Nou Camp.
Sport explain that the Dutchman had opted to stay at Barcelona this summer, amid an assault from Manchester United, as he believed he would play a ‘decisive role’ in Xavi’s new project.
The reality is different, though, as the Spanish coach does not count on him for important matches and that is starting to annoy the midfielder.
He sensed that things were not going to go well when he was used as a centre-back in pre-season and his role has devolved since then; something he is not comfortable with, as he wants more minutes and prominence in the big matches.
If he is not a starter in the Clasico with Real Madrid this weekend, there is a feeling he will end up with a ‘clear idea’ of how this season will go.
In other words, he will know he has no future under Xavi.
That’s where Manchester United come in, having maintained contact with his entourage and made it clear that they will ‘keep the doors open’ for him to join their project.
He would be guaranteed a starring role under Erik ten Hag, who would also make him the ‘standard bearer’ of the project he is building.
They would still have to do a deal with Barcelona of course, which proved tricky this summer and was ultimately made impossible by De Jong refusing to leave.
De Jong’s stance is now changing, though, and if he misses the clash with Real Madrid, the door may be firmly open for Manchester United to finally get their number one target.
