Ten Hag frustrated by Man Utd's pursuit of Frenkie de Jong
FT Desk
- 11 Sept 2022 08:30 BST
- 3 min read
Frenkie de Jong was Erik ten Hag's top transfer target at Manchester United this summer, but the midfielder stayed at Barcelona and the Red Devils signed Casemiro instead.
Ten Hag has done a promising job at United so far, rebounding from two defeats to put together a four-game winning streak - including victories over Liverpool and Arsenal - before the death of Queen Elizabeth II postponed games throughout the UK this weekend.
The Dutchman has signed two players who helped him win titles with Ajax in Antony and Lisandro Martinez - for a combined €165 million - but he was desperate for a third in De Jong.
One full summer of chasing him wasn't enough for Manchester United 🙄https://t.co/TbUCsGS9Yi
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) September 10, 2022
United were also keen, but the club hierarchy eventually baulked at his price and plumped for Real Madrid's Casemiro, the five-time Champions League-winning Brazilian arriving for an €80m fee towards the end of the window.
Reports from the Netherlands say that Ten Hag was "left frustrated" by United's refusal to pursue the De Jong deal. Although De Jong was also determined to stay at "dream club" Barcelona, his recent words suggest that United didn't follow through after all.
Frenkie: 'no point worrying about it'
"Of course, I heard the rumours too," he told Dutch daily newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. "But I didn't hear anything from the club management, so I assume that nothing was concrete, or that an agreement had already been reached. Then there's no point in worrying about it.
"My conversations with Xavi were just about football, about the team. There's still something that needs to be added next season to continue to grow, to perform better. But I've got every confidence in that."
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Ten Hag's frustration is understandable. While Casemiro is a world class defensive midfielder in his own right, his profile is profoundly different from De Jong's.
Casemiro is a formidable ball-winner whereas De Jong's most tangible skill is his ability to bring the ball from defence to attack, normally with progressive carries, of which he averaged five per game last season.
Casemiro is yet to start in the Premier League for Ten Hag, with Scott McTominay preferred at central midfield so far.
