Revealed: Erik ten Hag to take second shot at Frenkie de Jong

Frenkie de Jong, Manchester United and Erik ten Hag were three names often uttered in unison last summer.

From the moment it was confirmed that Ten Hag would take charge of the Red Devils, De Jong was quickly pronounced as the Dutch manager’s No. 1 target.

What ensued was a three-month long saga that involved illegal contracts, public statements, and private claims that ended with no one going anywhere.

It was well documented that a big reason for De Jong not wanting to leave Barcelona was due to €17 million they owed him in deferred wages due to their precarious financial situation.

Read more: How West Ham can help Erik ten Hag’s right-back problem.

United and Barcelona actually did end up reaching an agreement on a fee of €75m + €10m in add ons to help cover some of the deferred wages, however De Jong ultimately did not decide to join his former Ajax manager at Old Trafford in order to continue his place in Xavi’s squad.

Despite this, it has been reported by the Manchester Evening News that the Manchester club have ‘not closed the door’ on a second move for Frenkie de Jong.

It is then further claimed that De Jong privately gave Ten Hag assurances that he wanted to join his new project despite his public stance that he wanted to stay at Barcelona.

It is also claimed by the BBC that Erik ten Hag still feels Frenkie de Jong is a ‘perfect’ fit for his Old Trafford squad.

Whether De Jong joins Manchester United or not remains to be seen, but with Ten Hag’s midfield significantly increasing after the signings of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen.