Three Manchester United transfer targets responded to Donny van de Beek's pre-season social media post to generate excitement around the club's fanbase.
United are closing in on a deal to sign Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong with an initial transfer fee agreed with Barcelona for £56.2million. They are also close to a £14million deal to land De Jong’s Netherlands international teammate Tyrell Malacia – Feyenoord's left-back.
However, no deals have yet been formally concluded despite United returning to pre-season action this week under new boss Erik ten Hag. The squad has been significantly scaled back from last season with Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, Edinson Cavani and Lee Grant all leaving at the end of their contracts with no new signings as yet.
There have been some returning faces at the club's pre-season sessions under Ten Hag including Van de Beek, who is back at Old Trafford after his short loan stint at Everton concluded. The midfielder made seven appearances for the Merseyside club last season, including five Premier League starts, having moved to Goodison Park in January.
The 25-year-old shared his return to United’s training with his social media followers this week, with various pictures of him involved in the sessions alongside the caption: "Pre-season mode." It was the reactions to the player's post that have drawn most of the reaction though.
Barcelona midfielder De Jong – who formed such an effective midfield partnership with Van de Beek at Ajax – liked the post, as did his other former teammates in the Netherlands Antony and Lisandro Martinez. All three of those players are on United’s radar for deals in the summer transfer window.
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Of course, the three players reacting to Van de Beek's post are fuelled by their working relationship formed while they were all starring together at Ajax. However, that was two years ago and in Antony's case, the pair were only teammates for a handful of months.
Antony is said to be among the leading transfer targets for Ten Hag who is keen to reunite with the 22-year-old - Ajax's star player last season. United are said to be in pole position to land the Brazilian given his strong relationship with the Red Devils boss at the Amsterdam Arena while the player's representatives recently travelled to Europe in order to discuss a possible transfer this summer.
Ten Hag reportedly held a phone call with Barca star De Jong in which he convinced the player of his significance to his plans at Old Trafford. The midfielder was told he would be the 'conductor of the orchestra' and would be an undisputed starter under Ten Hag – a similar role to the one he enjoyed so much in Amsterdam.
