Manchester United will reportedly reignite their interest in Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong in future transfer windows.
The Netherlands international, 25, was spotted boarding a flight to London on Monday afternoon, sparking rumours of a late move in this transfer window. It's unclear what the nature of his visit is, with Chelsea also believed to be interested in the player.
United have tried all summer to sign De Jong. He was one of Erik ten Hag's main transfer targets, with the Red Devils agreeing an initial £56.2million fee with Barcelona in July. Ten Hag worked with De Jong at Ajax before the latter left for Spain in July 2019.
Yet United failed to persuade him to move to England. They couldn't offer De Jong Champions League football after finishing sixth in the Premier League last season. Ten Hag's side will instead compete in the Europa League as one of the favourites this term.
De Jong has also been embroiled in a messy contract dispute, with Barcelona reportedly owing him £17m in deferred wages. That made any transfer away from the Camp Nou difficult, with the cash-strapped Spanish giants asking him to take a pay cut or leave.
It's believed De Jong's preference has always been to stay in Spain and he's in talks over a new deal. "The only thing I know from Frenkie is that he wants to stay at Barca," said former Barcelona manager and fellow Dutchman Ronald Koeman in June.
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"In fact, a couple of days ago he said that: 'I want to stay at Barca.' But I don't know if Barca want to sell Frenkie de Jong or if they just need the money - because I think he is one of the few players they have that has such a high price."
Speaking to The Guardian in February, De Jong even admitted: "I’m very happy I’m at Barcelona: from a young age I’ve wanted to be here, so in that way it has been a dream come true... I’m very happy here and hopefully for many more years."
Despite this, United haven't given up on the deal. According to GOAL, United will try to sign De Jong again in the future. He is not expected to move to Old Trafford before the deadline after United completed an £85m deal to sign Antony, using up their budget.
The Red Devils were in desperate need of a new central midfielder this summer and have signed Casemiro from Real Madrid for an initial £60m. As exclusively revealed by Mirror Football, that transfer has not ended United's long pursuit of De Jong.
In fact, United's ability to persuade a five-time Champions League winner like Casemiro to Old Trafford could bode well in their pursuit of De Jong. The Dutchman is said to have 'liked' a video of Casemiro arriving in England to complete the transfer earlier this month.
Perhaps the biggest sticking point is whether a rival will swoop in and sign De Jong before Thursday's deadline. Chelsea can offer Champions League football, while Liverpool are on the hunt for a new central midfielder. Yet a move at this stage seems unlikely.
