Erik ten Hag may be able to use a secret weapon as he bids to convince top target Frenkie de Jong to move to Manchester United from Barcelona.
United are thought to have agreed a fee with the La Liga giants for the Dutch midfielder, with Barca keen to free up funds for their own overhaul. De Jong quickly became Ten Hag's primary target, with midfield one of the biggest areas of weakness in United's squad.
While Barca are ready to sell him and are even reportedly close to agreeing a fee with the Red Devils, De Jong has been much less keen to make the switch. But though De Jong is not currently keen to leave Barca for United, Ten Hag may be able to use two of his United players to convince him otherwise.
Those two players are midfielder Donny van de Beek and defender Victor Lindelof. Both Lindelof and Van de Beek are also represented by De Jong's agency HCM Sports Management, which could mean that they will be able to speak to him about the merits of joining the Red Devils.
The duo may be able to sell him the potential move to United, given their shared agents. That could be another angle that Ten Hag uses to change De Jong's mind, coupled with their shared history at Ajax.
Convincing De Jong may prove difficult though, given his so far stubborn stance on not leaving Barca. He has established himself as a key member of Xavi's side, helping Barca to secure qualification for the Champions League, a competition United will not be featuring in.
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That is one of a number of factors currently dissuading the 25-year-old from moving to Old Trafford. And he has made no secret of his desire to stay in Barcelona, publicly his unwillingness to join United.
"I will not go into that [the links to United]. Not even about other names or clubs. I used to be naive and open-minded about it. I don’t do that anymore. I understand that that link is made. That sum is not that difficult, it is logical," he said recently.
"I have enjoyed working with Ten Hag at Ajax – and I can’t look into the future, of course. But I prefer to stay at Barcelona. That has always been my dream club and it still is. As long as I don’t hear from the club management, I assume nothing is going on."
It may prove difficult to do that though, given De Jong's apparently firm stance against leaving the Nou Camp. He has frequently spoken of his move to Barca as being his dream, with the lack of Champions League football at United a huge stumbling block.
The Red Devils are still yet to make signing this summer, despite seeing Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Edinson Cavani and Jesse Lingard all leave. Ten Hag had hoped to wrap up a deal for De Jong quickly, but it now looks like it will drag on further unless a breakthrough in the player's attitude can be found.
