Frenkie de Jong and Erik ten Hag; a partnership that took Ajax to the Champions League semi-final in 2019. The Dutch manager now wants a reunion with his former midfield general at Old Trafford.
The sticking point however is that De Jong is currently at his dream club Barcelona. The Catalan club are believed to want to sell the midfielder due to their well-documented financial issues and to register new players but he does not want to leave and it doesn't help the situation that United are not in the Champions League.
This means that Ten Hag will have to convince the player to join him at his new club. But the main question that many fans have is if De Jong can be convinced to join United, what can he offer the squad?
READ MORE: Louis van Gaal gives Manchester United another reason to sign Frenkie de Jong
De Jong is a player who likes to be involved in all phases of the game; he likes to drop deep and receive the ball off defenders and then either pass it to another player or carry it up the field. This was the role he played while at Ajax and it is likely that this is what Ten Hag expects him to play at United, but at Barcelona, he hardly ever plays in that role, playing as a more advanced eight.
Since it has been three years since Ten Hag has managed De Jong, however, he may have had some doubts over whether the midfielder would still be able to perform his preferred role effectively. But if he watched the Netherlands fixture against Belgium he would see that he had no need to worry.
The Dutch midfielder played in his preferred role in Louis van Gaal's 5-3-2 as a more defensive player who has a licence to carry the ball forward and influence the game. And it seemed that De Jong himself was happy with the task he was given.
He told the Dutch media after the game: “I play a lot differently here than I do at Barça. I think this suits me much better. I like to be the first player to receive the ball from the defenders. Today was fantastic. Let’s just continue this way."
It seems that Van Gaal was also impressed with De Jong's performance, adding in his own post-match interview: “Frenkie de Jong always plays good at the national team. Here we try to play him to his strengths."
It seems that Ten Hag will likely have to play a more defensive player next to him in the pivot to truly see him thrive, but it seems that De Jong is still the player that impressed for Ajax all those years ago. And his time with the Netherlands will hopefully confirm to United fans why he should be the club's main target.
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