After four years, Ten Hag finally gets Barcelona revenge for De Jong to Man Utd saga

13 Jun 2026 07:35 BST | 6 min read

Hansi Flick, Erik ten Hag, Barcelona — © IMAGO

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

It may have taken four years, but former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has finally got one over on Barcelona for the long-running Frenkie de Jong saga.

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It is no secret that the Dutchman was desperate to link up with his former Ajax protégé during his first summer transfer window at Old Trafford. Ten Hag requested that Man Utd sign De Jong, but they were unable to convince Barcelona and the player to agree to the move.

In many ways, that was the defining moment of his tenure. Ten Hag and company failed to identify a suitable alternative and ultimately ended up overpaying for Casemiro, who set them back a whopping €70.7 million despite being over 30.

Compared

Frenkie de Jong

M, DM (C)

Barcelona

Frenkie de Jong

M, DM (C)

Barcelona

VS

Casemiro

DM, M (C)

Man Utd

Casemiro

DM, M (C)

Man Utd

€42.8M	ETV	€6.4M
€38.5M - €47.1M	ETV Range	€5.4M - €7.3M
29 years old (12 May, 1997)	Age	34 years old (23 Feb, 1992)
Netherlands	Nationality	Brazil

Casemiro eventually managed to become a fan favourite, but recency bias should not obscure the fact that he was largely viewed as a disappointing signing during Ten Hag's time at the club. It was clear that he wasn't what the manager had wanted for that position.

De Jong continued to be linked with Man Utd throughout Ten Hag's spell, but he never managed to get his hands on the Barcelona star, leaving the Red Devils desperately scrambling for midfield solutions - but neither Sofyan Amrabat nor Manuel Ugarte were the answer.

Ten Hag gets sweet revenge

Of course, no one knows how De Jong would have coped with the Premier League, but it is fair to say that Ten Hag's managerial career may have panned out differently had he managed to sign his preferred option in 2022. He was ultimately sacked by Man Utd in October 2024.

His next job was at Bayer Leverkusen, but his tenure was doomed from the start. After losing his first friendly 5-1 to the U20s of Brazilian side Flamengo and failing to build a rapport with his players during pre-season, he was axed just two matchdays into the Bundesliga season.

A period of reflection followed, culminating in the Dutchman surprisingly deciding to leave coaching for the time being. Instead, Ten Hag made a surprising return to his boyhood club Twente, where he took on the role of technical director.

Now, four years after failing to sign De Jong, he has managed to get sweet revenge on Barcelona by successfully fending off their interest in one of the biggest prospects in European football.

The Eredivisie side have announced that wonderkid defender Ruud Nijstad has committed his future to the club. The 18-year-old has agreed a new contract until 2029, so he is going nowhere this summer.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona, PSV and Eintracht Frankfurt were keen to sign him this summer. This big-name interest shouldn't be surprising: in addition to being very young, Nijstad is a left-footed centre-back, which is a sought-after profile in the market.

"Last season, at the age of 17, Ruud made his debut in the first team and showed that he is a very talented defender," Ten Hag triumphantly declared. "It is not without reason that there was a lot of interest in him from, among others, European powerhouses.

"We are pleased that Ruud has chosen to extend his contract. He feels at home here, the supporters are proud of him, and he has a strong bond with the region. At FC Twente, we have the competencies to help him progress; he is an asset in realising our high ambitions.

"It is wonderful to see a regional player from our own academy undergoing this development. Let it be an example for other talented players. Ruud symbolises the identity of FC Twente: a regional club giving young players the chance to perform at the highest level, both nationally and internationally."

How good can Nijstad become?

Ten Hag's delight is well-founded. Nijstad has the potential to become a standout performer at a high European level, according to analytics firm SciSports, which analyses hundreds of in-game data points to calculate a SciSkill rating and potential.

While Nijstad is not yet at the level to play for a European giant - he has only been playing senior football for a few months - his ceiling is quite high. If we take Barcelona as an example, SciSports believes that the 18-year-old can easily become significantly better than Ronald Araujo.

This is also backed up by the eye-test, according to FootballTransfers' Eredivisie expert Lars Leeftink. "Ruud Nijstad has only been a professional footballer for a year and has only been a starter at FC Twente for six months, but is already the greatest defensive Dutch talent there is," he said.

"FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich, among others, have already been linked, and PSV and Eintracht Frankfurt were specifically interested. His defensive qualities and especially qualities on the ball in the build-up with his splitting passes and long balls are already high, but experience is lacking.

"With his extension until the summer of 2029, FC Twente can ask for even more than it already did, should a transfer occur. Nijstad appears to benefit from another season at FC Twente before making a move to the top Dutch clubs or Europe, and this season looks set to happen unless a club wants to offer a huge sum."

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Read more about: La Liga Eredivisie Premier League Barcelona Man Utd Twente Frenkie de Jong Ruud Nijstad

Written by

Tom Weber | Writer

Tom Weber is an experienced, multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer as part of his freelance work for FootballTransfers.

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