Erik ten Hag keen to ‘revisit’ Frenkie de Jong situation despite blatant Manchester United snub

Jason Soutar
Frenkie De Jong after a match

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag still wants to sign Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong and is keen to ‘revisit’ the situation in January.

Frenkie de Jong is clearly not keen on signing for Manchester United having snubbed them last summer, but the rumours refuse to go away.

The Red Devils agreed a transfer fee with Barcelona, however, the player snubbed a move and made it abundantly clear he wanted to stay in Catalonia.

The Dutch midfielder is apparently owed a serious amount of money in deferred wages – or at least he was back then; that has gone a bit quiet since the summer window closed.

It didn’t seem like United were prepared to pay those deferred wages, which could have seen De Jong’s priorities change.

Chelsea and Liverpool have also been linked with the former Ajax midfield general – who was quietly terrific for the Netherlands at this winter’s World Cup.

United were recently told by Barcelona director Jordi Cruyff to not waste their time pursuing De Jong when the transfer window re-opens next month.

They are simply not listening, though, if recent reports are to be believed.

This morning’s Gossip column stated that United are still keen on De Jong, while also holding an interest in Borussia Dortmund and England teenager Jude Bellingham.

Manchester Evening News were cited then, and I am citing BBC now.

They claim that the Red Devils ‘have not abandoned all hope of signing Frenkie de Jong’ despite being rejected in the summer transfer window.

Please… when will it end?

Erik ten Hag – who made his former Ajax player his top target upon arriving at Old Trafford in May – is looking to ‘revisit’ the situation after being snubbed months prior.

Despite signing Casemiro after being rejected – and bringing in Christian Eriksen – Ten Hag wants to further bolster his midfield.

While midfield recruits look to be on the agenda for the Dutch manager, his priority is surely signing a new attacker.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract was terminated last month, meaning United are a lot shorter up top.

Signing a new forward next summer was on the agenda, but Ronaldo’s exit has brought forward that plan to January.

PSV Eindhoven star – and De Jong’s Netherlands teammate – Cody Gakpo has been very strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford.

The 23-year-old has been brilliant for PSV this term, providing 3o goal contributions already. He also scored three in five for the Netherlands at the World Cup.

While Gakpo is not a natural No. 9, he has shown for club and country that he is capable of playing in that position.

He mainly plays off the left but looks like he would be a terrific addition – unless he repeats Memphis Depay’s United career.

Depay left PSV for the Red Devils in 2014 after proving himself to be far too good for the Eredivisie.

He flopped massively at Old Trafford, and Gakpo will be hoping to avoid a similar fate when he inevitably joins the Premier League club.

A recent report from The Telegraph stated that United are preparing to lodge a £43million bid to sign Gakpo next month.

PSV sporting director Marcel Brands has said the club would only sell Gakpo for a club-record fee.

This would break that record – which was set when Hirving Lozano left for Italian club Napoli for around £38m.

READ MORE: Why do Man Utd want Vlahovic when Mitrovic is there for the taking?