It appeared to be a match made in heaven but if it hasn't quite been hell it has certainly been purgatory. Frenkie de Jong has been trapped below the quality level he should be soaring to at Barcelona ever since he made the move.
A transfer has rarely made as much sense. A young midfielder raised and taught in the classic Dutch 'total football' philosophy, who had established himself as one of the finest young midfielders in Europe, especially revered for his excellent passing and tight control, taking the well-worn path from Ajax to Barcelona, trail that was first blazed by John Cruyff decades earlier and the links of which remains strong to this day.
Barcelone's identity is owed nearly entirely to Cruyff and the ideals he instilled at the Camp Nou, with the foundations of the La Masia academy to the way of life on the pitch. De Jong appeared to be the latest embodiment of that, the heir to Xavi's throne and the perfect player for the perfect team being signed from the perfect club. It couldn't fail, could it?
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Well, it kind of has. Not entirely for reasons under the midfielder or any other players' control, as Barcelona nearly unravelled completely in the two years since he joined the club in 2019 and are only now beginning to stitch themselves back together again, though not without the odd nick in the fabric.
Instead of heralding in a new era of liquid football in Catalonia, De Jong has had to suffer with the rest of the team as Barca's financial mismanagement cost them dearly. It cost them their icon and the greatest player of all time, and saw them forced into giving away players they had spent tens if not hundreds of millions on for next to nothing.
On the pitch there have been embarrassing exits from the Champions League and hardly any challenges for the league title, and off it the prospect of such a historic, giant club going out of business became an actual prospect for a moment.
In that time De Jong has managed to get his hands on one trophy, the Copa del Rey, and his career certainly hasn't kicked on at the rate as was expected. Instead of going on to fulfil his destiny as the next best midfielder on the planet, he has stalled and faltered. As a result, there have been repeated links with a departure this summer.
Manager Xavi has repeatedly insisted he does not want to lose De Jong, saying just a couple of days ago: "I haven’t talked with him about his future," admitted the Barcelona manager ahead of Sunday's La Liga game against Rayo Vallecano.
"He is playing at a very good level and has to continue here – he can be one of the best midfielders in the world for years to come. If it were up to me, I would continue here for many more years. He is very important and can mark an era here. He has to score, assist and he has to be the protagonist."
But the harsh reality is that Barcelona are still strapped for cash and aren't in a position to be turning down big bids for players, especially ones that aren't home-grown prodigies. With the likes of Pedri and Gavi bursting into the first-team in midfield, Barca may well see De Jong as expendable as he is one of the few players who they could sacrifice without a backlash from supporters and still fetch a high price.
Manchester United should do all they can to take advantage of the situation. Midfield has been the most troubling of the side's many weak points for years now, exasperated by the fact that it was repeatedly neglected while lavish spending was used elsewhere in the squad. It's gotten to the point that one signing may not even be enough as Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic will both leave in the summer so now two should ideally be recruited to replenish the area.
Thankfully, United have finally realised the errors of their ways and have made the midfield their priority in the summer. With Declan Rice likely to be unattainable due to a lack of Champions League football and a steep asking price, a deal for Leeds United's Kalvin Phillips is being worked on to add solidity to the middle of the park.
But that still leaves room for a more creative player to be signed and De Jong couldn't fit the bill better. As well as being porous, United's midfield is near-completely bereft of creativity, with no ability to carry the ball through tight spaces, recycle possession or build attacking patterns. Those are all qualities that the Dutchman would provide in spades, even if he hasn't quite lived up to lofty expectations in Spain. He is still just 24 and has plenty of time to bounce back.
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Then there is obviously the link with Erik ten Hag, too. The incoming United manager was the man who first brought De Jong into the first team, honed his skills and turned him into a £75million player. They enjoyed great success together in Amsterdam and playing under a coach De Jong is already familiar with will theoretically help him adapt to the club much easier. In fact, the more players Ten Hag can recruit who will already be prepared for his demands the better the rest of the squad may be at adapting to them.
Signing De Jong would likely be costly but United need to support their new manager and there can't be many better ways of doing so than signing one of the best players he has ever had under his command.
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