Blow to Man Utd’s chances of signing Ten Hag’s favourite player

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 23 May 2023 13:27 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United’s hopes of signing Frenkie de Jong this summer have received a big blow.

According to Sport, Barcelona no longer see De Jong as available for transfer and want to extend his contract.

The Dutchman’s current deal expires in 2026 and Barca plan to extend the contract with a reduced wage that will earn De Jong more in the long term.

READ: Barcelona handed major blow in race to sign La Liga star as Busquets' replacement

Barcelona are said to be very happy with De Jong’s performances in their La Liga-winning season.

The player himself also wishes to stay at the club.

United are in the market for a top-class central midfielder this summer to partner Casemiro.

De Jong is regarded as Ten Hag’s favoured player for the role, and United have been expected to come back in for the 26-year-old.

United and De Jong in 2022

United made De Jong their primary transfer target in the summer of 2022 and spent much of the window trying to convince him to join.

However, De Jong refused continuously and he ended up staying put at Camp Nou.

Barcelona are understood to have accepted an €85 million bid from Man Utd in July 2022, and made it clear that they wanted him to move to Old Trafford.

But De Jong refused to join Man Utd and stayed at Barcelona, despite interest from Chelsea and Bayern Munich as well.

De Jong admitted this weekend that United tried to sign him last year.

"The club was in a difficult situation. They could have sold me very expensive, they wanted to and there were talks with Manchester United, but I didn’t want to leave and I stayed," De Jong admitted.

"Some little things [I miss about the Netherlands], but I think life here is fantastic. If I and the club continue to be fine, I would prefer to stay here as long as possible."