‘Crossed My Mind’—Frenkie de Jong Reveals How Close He Came to Man Utd Transfer

The Dutch midfielder has long been targeted by Man Utd.

Frenkie de Jong was close to joining Man Utd in the past. | Alex Caparros/Getty Images

Frenkie de Jong has admitted he considered taking Manchester United up on their offer of a transfer in 2022.

The Barcelona midfielder was known to be the top target of Erik ten Hag, who joined United as manager that summer and knew De Jong well from their shared time at Ajax, but the Dutch international had been towards the top of United’s shortlist for years even before Ten Hag’s arrival.

Barcelona wanted to sell and United wanted to buy, but it was De Jong himself that put an end to the move.

“Of course, it’s crossed your mind at times, like, ‘O.K., what should I do?’” De Jong told The Guardian.

“So as long as I’m good enough to be a starter here, to make an impact and Barcelona is at the level I want to play at—with the sense that they’ll be competing for the major trophies—then there’s no reason for me to go.”

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Man Utd’s Mixed Fortunes After De Jong Snub

It was Casemiro who joined instead of De Jong. | Mark Cosgrove/News Images/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Recognizing they needed a deep-lying midfielder to help Ten Hag’s system work, United eventually pivoted to Casemiro when they realized a deal for De Jong was not going to happen.

The Brazilian has had mixed fortunes at Old Trafford. Casemiro had an excellent debut season but soon struggled for form and tumbled out of favor following the arrival of Ruben Amorim, whose 3-4-2-1 formation would likely have created the same issues for De Jong.

At that point, it would have been easy for hindsight to point out the disappointment of United’s failure to land De Jong, although Casemiro eventually turned things around and has been among the primary reasons for United’s resurgence in the second half of the current campaign.

The primary downside with signing Casemiro over De Jong is the former’s age. Having recently celebrated his 34th birthday, Casemiro will leave Old Trafford this summer as he prepares to bring his career to a close, while De Jong is on the cusp of turning 29.

The repurcussion of United signing the older player means the Red Devils are, once again, back on the hunt for a big-money midfielder to sit at the base of their midfield.

There have been speculative rumors of an exit from Barcelona for De Jong, but the Dutchman is evidently in no rush to leave and United are already looking at big-money targets to bolster the squad of whoever sits in the dugout next season.

Elliot Anderson of Nottingham Forest is thought to be the leading candidate on a shorlist which also includes Brighton & Hove Albion’s Carlos Baleba, Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali and Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, all of whom are expected to command mammoth transfer fees.

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