Manchester United will reportedly make another attempt to sign Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong in 2024.
The Netherlands international was heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford during Erik ten Hag’s first transfer window as Red Devils head coach little over one year ago.
Man United are believed to have come to an agreement with Barcelona over a price, but the midfielder made it clear on multiple occasions that he did not want to leave Camp Nou.
The Red Devils boosted their midfield over the summer with the signings of Mason Mount and Sofyan Amrabat, with the latter widely expected to join on a permanent basis from Fiorentina next year.
However, the club are likely to be in the market for another big-money player in that position 2024, and according to Fichajes, De Jong remains very much a leading transfer target for the 20-time English champions.
De Jong has been a vital player for Barcelona at the start of this season, scoring once in six appearances, and he played 58 minutes of Tuesday’s 5-0 success over Royal Antwerp in the Champions League.
The 26-year-old has another three years left to run on his contract at Camp Nou but has revealed that discussions over a renewal are ongoing.
“My contract renewal? My agent is taking care of that, but I’m happy here,” transfer expert Fabrizio Romano quotes the midfielder as saying.
Romano claims that De Jong is desperate to stay at Camp Nou, but any new deal would almost certainly come with a salary reduction due to the Catalan outfit’s financial problems.
Man United allegedly still believe that they can convince De Jong to make the move to Old Trafford, although a lot could depend on how the season unfolds for the Red Devils.
Ten Hag’s side have lost three of their first five Premier League matches of the season, and they are currently in Germany preparing for Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.
Barcelona, though, have won each of their last five matches in all competitions, including their Champions League opener at home to Antwerp.
“We’ve started well, I’m happy. We have a very good squad, players with a lot of talent and if we work well and do what we have to do, we can fight for big objectives,” De Jong said after the European success.
The Dutchman has made 189 appearances for Barcelona since arriving from Ajax in the summer of 2019, scoring 16 goals and registering 21 assists in the process.
