Manchester United have been told they are embarrassing themselves by attempting to sign Frenkie de Jong, who sees the club as "the runt of the litter".
The Red Devils have been pursuing the Dutchman throughout the majority of the transfer window, Erik ten Hag attempting to manufacture a reunion with his former Ajax star in order to add to his midfield options at Old Trafford. So far, United have agreed a fee with the Spanish giants but De Jong remains unconvinced about a switch.
The Dutchman is remaining firm over his stance of staying at the Camp Nou as he holds out for wages owed to him by the club - whilst he also wants to continue playing in the Champions League.
Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan has told the Red Devils that De Jong sees them as "feeble" and the worst option on the table with Chelsea also having been linked with a move for his services.
Speaking with talkSPORT, he said: “He doesn't want to go. He doesn't want to go. He doesn't want to go to Manchester United. I think he thinks Manchester United are in a feeble state, they’re not playing in the Champions League. He clearly doesn't want to go.
"The problem is how the hell have Manchester United got themselves into a position where they’re bidding for somebody that doesn’t want to come to them and they are going to get bent over and possibly paying more for the player than the player’s worth.
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"They’re going to pay ridiculous salaries and yet still he doesn’t want to come to Manchester United.”
Heading into the transfer window, there was hope that the Red Devils would have the opportunity to complete a move for De Jong considering his prior productive relationship with Red Devils boss Ten Hag in Amsterdam. Jordan has further claimed that the Dutchman’s rejection is yet more embarrassment for the club.
He continued: “He doesn’t want to go, does he? The embarrassment for Manchester United and Ten Hag is this is a player that you would think might want to go and play for this fella.
“But clearly he looks at Manchester United as the runt of the litter and looks at them and thinks of a feeble football club at this moment in time and thinks ‘why would I want to go and play for them.”
Whilst De Jong is currently the Red Devils’ prime midfield target, it appears that the club are ready to move on to alternatives. Sky Sports have reported that they could renew their interest in Wolves star Ruben Neves, whilst Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has been linked with a summer move.
