Frenkie de Jong spent much of the summer transfer window being linked with a move to Manchester United. He was briefly edged forward as a possible target for Chelsea, but it was the Red Devils who were thought to be the keener club.
Barcelona themselves were keen on a transfer for financial reasons, as they wrestled with levers and creative accountancy to try and bring the signings in that Xavi Hernandez had requested the club make.
The midfielder didn’t take kindly to it, and refused to leave the Camp Nou or renegotiate his contract with the Catalan club. Despite all kinds of threats sent through the media from club sources, De Jong was gaining prominence for Barcelona ahead of the World Cup.
There’s another Dutchman set to be the man linked most with Manchester United during the next window, and that’s PSV’s Cody Gakpo, who is impressing at the World Cup.
Both men have been taking part in press conferences and were asked about January moves and Manchester United.
De Jong killed the line of questioning, quoted by Mundo Deportivo as saying: “I’m at a World Cup, I’m not going to talk about clubs.”
Meanwhile, RMC quote Gakpo being just a little more open: “As things stand, I will still play for PSV after the winter break. But as I said before the start of the World Cup: we’ll see what happens.”
