“Again…” Manchester United’s Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong have the same transfer wish

Manchester United’s new signing Matthijs de Ligt and Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong have both explained that they would like to play together again one day.

Manchester United have secured themselves a new centre-back this summer as Matthijs de Ligt puts pen to paper on a five-year contract, joining Erik ten Hag‘s growing Dutch contingent at Old Trafford.

While United have secured his services for an initial £38 million fee, the transfer feels five years in the making.

Read More: Manchester United’s top target ‘left out of training’ as club make transfer decision

United first registered their interest in De Ligt during his brilliant 2018/19 season, where he captained Ajax to a league title and Champions League semi-final at the age of 19.

However, the Dutch defender chose to sign for Juventus for a fee of around €75 million in 2019, snubbing United’s efforts. Three seasons later, United returned, but the then 22-year-old chose to pick Bayern Munich over Ten Hag’s new team, arriving in Germany for up to €77 million.

However, in August 2024, United finally secured their man. On Tuesday morning, he signed a five-year contract and trained with his new team for the first time alongside fellow arrival Noussair Mazraoui.

De Ligt is not the only former Ajax star who United have chased. Many fans will be familiar with the 2022 pursuit of Frenkie de Jong, which ultimately failed as the midfielder did not want to leave Camp Nou despite Ten Hag’s wishes.

De Ligt and De Jong were Ajax’s two golden boys in 2019, and both players very much showed affection playing for each other. Over the past few years, both players have also expressed a desire to play together again at a club level, despite their link-ups with the Netherlands national team across the last five years.

After De Jong joined Barcelona in 2019, De Ligt was questioned by Voetbal Primeur, who he voted for during the 2019 Dutch Player of the Season balloting.

I think I voted for Frenkie,” De Ligt said prior to his eventual move to Juventus. “I think he has developed very well this year. He deserves the move to Barcelona.

“Will I play with him there? It would be nice to play with Frenkie in a team, but I don’t know if it will happen.”

De Jong was then pressed on the same topic, and he admitted that he would like to see De Ligt join his team. “I’d like to see him here [Barcelona], but I can’t decide. He has to make that decision with his family.”

Fast forward to the present day, and De Ligt has finally chosen to don the Red of Manchester, and the club have once again been linked with De Jong.

According to Manchester World, United have made a tentative approach to Barcelona over the possibility of signing De Jong this summer. United are open to completing a deal if a fee around the £30-£40 million mark can be agreed, but currently, nothing is advanced.

United will sign a midfielder this summer regardless of outgoing sales, and they have been linked to a number of players in the position, such as Manuel Ugarte, Youssouf Fofana, and Sander Berge.

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