Football News: Frenkie de Jong tells Erik ten Hag he wants to join Manchester United

Frenkie de Jong, a midfielder for Barcelona, reportedly told Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, that he would be open to a future transfer to Old Trafford.

The Dutchman was a target for the Red Devils during the summer transfer window, and it was thought that a deal had been reached with Barcelona. Man United had to give up on trying to sign De Jong, 25, because he had no interest in leaving Camp Nou and would not engage in negotiations.

Man United instead swooped for Casemiro, but it has been predicted that they may rekindle their interest in De Jong, whose long-term future is still up in the air. The former Ajax prodigy reportedly informed Ten Hag he didn't want to stayon the books at Camp Nou despite having previously expressed that wish.

According to the source, De Jong told Ten Hag in private conversations that he would be open to moving to the Theatre of Dreams, and his deferred salary proved to be the main obstacle in Man United's pursuit.

De Jong has a contract with Barcelona that runs through the 2025-26 season, but he is rumoured to have refused the Blaugrana's most recent attempts to reduce his pay yet again.

Since joining Barcelona in 2019, the midfielder has scored 15 goals and made 19 assists in 157 games, including two goals and one assist in 17 games in 2022-2023.

In five starts for the Netherlands in the 2022 World Cup, De Jong scored one goal and assisted on another, but the Oranje were upset by eventual champions Argentina in the quarterfinals.

Given De Jong's contract position, Barcelona is still under no obligation to sell him, and sporting director Jordi Cruyff has reiterated that any chance of the midfielder leaving Barcelona has passed.

"Today this is not being talked about. In football there are moments and sometimes they are not defined solely by football issues,"

Cruyff told Sport.

"The fair play situation. Not everyone understands what it is, there are changes every week, but there are situations and decisions that are not just football things. But time has passed and he has an important role."

"The reality is that Frenkie has stayed, he is a loved player, people expect a lot from him because he is very talented and a slightly different player. There was the possibility because good players are always wanted by good teams, it works like that. The reality is that he is here and he is playing an important role."

"There are market moments and it's no longer with Frenkie, but with everyone, there is a fair play rule and the consequences of not complying with it are enormous and there are calculations that have nothing to do with what happens on the pitch."

Along with Casemiro, Christian Eriksen was also added by Ten Hag in the summer, but the Man United manager is allegedly still looking for additional young talent to bolster his midfield.

Jude Bellingham of Borussia Dortmund is still being linked with a move to Manchester United, although Real Madrid and Liverpool are reportedly leading the chase for the 19-year-old.

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