Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong is back on Manchester United's radar ahead of the summer transfer window and Casemiro could play a key role in convincing the player over a move to Old Trafford.
United had an initial transfer fee of £56.2million agreed with Barca last summer to sign the Dutch midfield maestro but ultimately no deal was struck as the player wanted to remain in the Catalan capital, where he is the highest-earning player.
De Jong is said to top United’s six-man shortlist for summer transfers with his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag believing that the high-flying Red Devils can take advantage of Barca’s precarious financial situation – they need to reduce their wage bill ahead of next season – to pounce for his former star midfielder.
Despite not opting to complete a switch to United, the two clubs were in constant dialogue throughout last summer and De Jong even liked an Instagram post in which Casemiro arrived at Old Trafford for the first time since joining the club from Real Madrid last August.
A report in talkSPORT now highlights that Casemiro’s presence at United would be a huge factor in potentially convincing De Jong to leave the Camp Nou to link up with Ten Hag once more. The two midfield stars were rivals in multiple El Clasicos but hold great admiration for each other.
Furthermore, De Jong played both games for the Blaugrana as they were eliminated from the Europa League and there is a belief in the United camp that the midfielder seeing directly the level of United and the feel-good factor around Old Trafford could help persuade him in a future approach.
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After missing out on a move for De Jong last summer, United moved to sign Casemiro having also added central midfielder Christian Eriksen as a free agent. The club have also added Marcel Sabitzer on loan from Bayern Munich until the end of the campaign following an injury to the Dane.
Scott McTominay and Fred were the existing central midfield options for United but the first-team squad has lacked numbers in the position over recent seasons. Donny van de Beek is also suffering a long-term injury.
Ten Hag is keen to continue restructuring his squad this summer with United open to offers for striker Martial, club captain Harry Maguire and Alex Telles – currently on loan at Sevilla – in the coming window.
