Man United is willing to pay €55 million for Barcelona superstar De Jong. Manchester United is reportedly interested in signing Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona. According to the Catalan newspaper El Nacional, the Red Devils are willing to pay up to €55 million to sign the Dutch magista.
De Jong joined Barcelona from Ajax in 2019 for a reported fee of €75 million. The Dutchman was regarded as the club’s successor to Sergio Busquets. However, with Busquets still in the lineup, de Jong has been assigned a different position.
He’s been moved around in midfield and hasn’t been as effective as at Ajax. De Jong, 24, might be one of the world’s top-holding midfielders.
So far, the Dutchman has appeared in 107 games for Barcelona, scoring nine goals and assisting on 14 others. Earlier reports suggested that new Barcelona manager Xavi was willing to sell de Jong to raise funds for the club.
Manchester United has been looking for a suitable replacement for Paul Scholes for nearly a decade. The former England midfielder was even called back from retirement to play holding midfield.
Manchester United has spent nearly £1 billion since then, but they still do not have a world-class magista on their roster. Scott McTominay isn’t ready to replace Nemanja Matic at Manchester United. Fred, a box-to-box midfielder, was moved into that position, but the move has not paid off.
The club has realized that having a holding midfielder could drastically alter their team balance, which could explain their interest in de Jong.
Given the current makeup of Manchester United’s squad, de Jong will fit right in at Old Trafford. They allow players like Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba to romp forward in midfield if he screens the defense.
United is reportedly willing to pay €55 million for the Dutchman. Barcelona will be put to the test as it provides good money at a time when the club is in financial trouble.
