Frenkie de Jong has revealed how he enjoyed his time working with Erik ten Hag at Ajax but has refused to be drawn on links with a reunion at Manchester United.
The Barcelona midfielder is a leading summer transfer target for United as Ten Hag looks to strengthen his midfield, but De Jong has expressed a desire to remain at the Nou Camp.
The 25-year-old signed for his "dream club" three years ago but he's not consistently hit the heights expected of him and Barcelona's dire financial problems mean a sale might be in the interests of the club this summer.
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But De Jong has no intention of giving up on his dream to be a success at Barcelona and a move to United would be difficult, given they can only offer Europa League football.
De Jong, currently on international duty with Holland, has revealed he has recently spoken to Xavi about his role at Barcelona and that he can understand why he's being linked to United.
"I have enough confidence in myself [to be a success at Barcelona]. I am not afraid. I recently spoke extensively with the trainer [Xavi]. That was a very good conversation," he told Algemeen Dagblad .
"I will not go into that [the links to United]. Not even about other names or clubs. I used to be naive and open-minded about it. I don’t do that anymore.
"I understand that that link is made. That sum is not that difficult, it is logical. I have enjoyed working with Ten Hag at Ajax – and I can’t look into the future, of course. But I prefer to stay at Barcelona.
"That has always been my dream club and it still is. As long as I don’t hear from the club management, I assume nothing is going on."
A new midfielder is top of Ten Hag's wishlist for this summer, with that area of the squad further weakened by the departures of Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata on free transfers.
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