Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has delivered a damning verdict of Manchester United's embarrassing transfer chase of Frenkie de Jong.
The Red Devils have been attempting to sign the 25-year-old for much of the summer window. But despite agreeing a fee with Barcelona, they have encountered major problems trying to convince the midfielder himself that Old Trafford would be the right move.
Instead, he has been determined to snub the chance to link back up with former boss Erik ten Hag. With a move to United increasingly looking dead in the water, Chelsea are now reportedly planning their own move for the Netherlands international.
According to talkSPORT, the Blues are 'confident' they will be able to agree a fee with the La Liga giants. That would make it a straight choice for De Jong between Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford.
It is stated that Chelsea are seen as being the 'more likely' destination given De Jong's reluctance to join United. That would be a major blow to Ten Hag, given that he had made the midfielder is number one target.
Jordan then asked the radio station's transfer reporter Alex Crook if Chelsea had employed a different strategy to United. He replied: “I don’t believe so. In fact, it’s been suggested to me that the transfer fee might actually be less than what Manchester United are offering.”
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That revelation provoked a damning response from Jordan, who said: “Oh dear, it gets worse!” Given the poor performance of United's midfield against Brighton last Sunday, losing out on De Jong will be a serious blow to Ten Hag's hopes of a quick turnaround in fortunes.
One man not surprised by De Jong's reluctance to join United is Micah Richards. The former Premier League winner slammed the Red Devils' approach to the transfer window, with only three players having arrived at Old Trafford.
"Players don’t want to go to Man United now, that’s the brutal honesty of the situation now. You talk about the players, say Man United try to get Caicedo or a young player that was amazing, all the fans because of the size of Man United would be saying ‘who’s this, why are we not going for top players?’ They can’t win really, can they?" Richards told the Monday Night Club.
"It’s just desperation isn’t it, you get to this time of the window and you think Frenkie de Jong - it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. It might still happen to be honest, might not it’s dead in the water but everyday you read a different article and the situation with Barcelona.
"But the thing with Man United is so frustrating, there doesn’t seem to be a plan, it seems to be desperation and 'let’s get bodies in for the sake of it so it looks like we’re doing something'.
"The players they’re linked with Arnautovic and Rabiot aren’t actually good players, I see them as squad players, they need to be bringing in big name players who can take the club forward."
