Erik ten Hag speaks out on Frenkie de Jong amid ongoing Manchester United interest
manchestereveningnews.co.ukManchester United manager Erik ten Hag lauded Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong as a talent who would strengthen any squad in the world.
United agreed an €85million fee with Barcelona to sign De Jong but the midfielder publicly expressed his preference to stay in Catalonia and his wage deferral proved to be an insurmountable stumbling block.
After the 4-0 drubbing by Brentford on August 13, United ended their pursuit of De Jong and used the funds set aside for the Dutchman to sign Casemiro from Real Madrid for £60m rising to £70m. Also read: Xavi speaks out on United's attempt to sign De Jong Ten Hag coached De Jong for 18 months at Ajax, who ended their five-year championship drought and were seconds away from reaching the Champions League final in 2019.
Barcelona signed De Jong less than two months later in a €5m deal. Ahead of United's Europa League play-off with Barcelona, De Jong was mentioned in two questions at Ten Hag's press conference. "So I think we have a class in 2019 that was a team with a lot of fascination and he brings a lot of that fascination," Ten Hag said, "and I think he develops in the years after and here and in Spain he became even better. "He's a fantastic player, plays out from the back, he always has time and it was a pleasure to work with him." When Ten Hag was asked why United did not sign De Jong, he laughed and replied: "I don't know if we wanted him.
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