De Jong to Man Utd hinges on this detail, Romano reveals

Jacque Talbot

• 6 Mar 2023 16:30 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United would have to wait for Frenkie de Jong to press ahead with a switch if they are to bring the midfielder in at this stage.

Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Man Utd will need to hold out and wait for the Barcelona star and at the moment, he is happy where he is.

In his CaughtOffside column, the Italian reporter spoke about Man Utd’s long-term interest in De Jong and where things are up to now. Romano said: “Erik ten Hag loves Frenkie de Jong, we know that very well.

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"It’s normal he’d love to have Frenkie at Man United but I always mention the same thing since last June: it’s on Frenkie to decide his future, and at the moment he has not told Barca that he wants to leave.

“He’s happy in Barcelona and so there are no changes at this stage.”

Last summer, in what was a long and drawn-out sage, Erik ten Hag made the Dutchman his number one choice but the 25-year-old refused to leave Barca.

This season, De Jong has flourished, enjoying one of his brightest seasons in La Liga under Xavi.

But that has not deterred Ten Hag, whose ambition continues to be reuniting with his former Ajax player at Old Trafford for next season.

Barcelona’s financial woes

Barcelona’s financial issues are well documented and that could prove vital for Man Utd, but at the moment, they would need for De Jong to ask for a move away,

The side have to offload some £170 million worth of talent to abide by La Liga rules, but they do have a number of valuable stars in their ranks.

Any sale of De Jong would demand a sizeable fee and it looks as though personal terms may prove tricky, as it was last summer, when a bid of around £60m was accepted by Barca but the player refused to budge.