DE JONG HAS ERIK ON HOLD
ERIK TEN HAG’S conviction that Frenkie de Jong is the player to lead Manchester United’s renaissance is behind the club’s inertia in the transfer market.
Ten Hag was handed a £150million budget on his arrival at Old Trafford earlier this summer – and immediately asked for six new signings to begin a major rebuild.
He was also told any money raised by departures would be added to his kitty.
Ten Hag made De Jong his No.1 target and believes that Holland’s midfield playmaker will choose United ahead of Chelsea in a straight choice between the two Premier League clubs.
United have a £71.85m agreement in place with Barcelona to sign De Jong. But the 25-year-old is refusing to give up on £17m in deferred wages to make the move happen.
The stalemate has now been dragging on for weeks – but Ten Hag has been reluctant to tell United to press the button on any further incoming deals because he is worried it would strip him of the finances to sign De Jong.
Barcelona boss Xavi has told De Jong that he does not feature in his plans – and his decision to use the Dutchman only as a substitute defender during the club’s pre-season tour of the US was regarded as a slap in the face.
United’s manager has told the club that De Jong is a world-class talent with the technique and vision to become the leader of his team. United have lined up a £15m-plus-add-ons deal for Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot – but if they land the Frenchman (below), it will not alter their stance on De Jong.
As revealed by the Sunday Mirror last week, Ten Hag has also targeted PSV Eindhoven forward Cody Gakpo.
The United boss has already spoken to the 23-year-old Dutch footballer of the year.
Ten Hag explained the financial tightrope he is walking to Gakpo and is aware that PSV will not cash in on the player until their Champions League fate is decided.
PSV meet Rangers in a play-off for a place in the group stages worth around £60m. If United can secure De Jong, that would swallow the rest of their budget and they would have to raise funds for Gakpo’s arrival by selling players.
United have spent £65m bringing in Lisandro Martinez from Ajax and Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord, while Christian Eriksen arrived as a free agent.
Ten Hag inherited a squad stripped of out-ofcontract players, including Jesse Lingard, Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani and Juan Mata, while Nemanja Matic has been allowed to leave and Dean Henderson and Alex Telles have gone out on loan.
United’s only sale has been the £8.5m departure of Andreas Pereira to Fulham and there have been no takers for Aaron Wan-bissaka, Eric Bailly or Phil Jones.