Frenkie de Jong: Man United may be compromising after £64m update – pundit
Alex McLeish has suggested financial limitations may have led to Man United chasing a deal for Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong.
The former Scotland boss, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, suggested Erik ten Hag may have compromised by trying to sign a player he knows rather than pushing for the “best players possible”.
As reported by journalist Fabrizio Romano (14 June), United had a £64million (€70million) verbal bid rejected by Barca for the 25-year-old.
The Catalan giants are reportedly holding out for a guaranteed £72.6million (€85million) fee to let the midfielder go.
McLeish suggested Ten Hag would be chasing other targets if he had more money available to him at Old Trafford.
He questioned whether De Jong has what it takes to be a success in the Premier League.
Asked how important it could be that Ten Hag and De Jong have worked together before, McLeish told Football Insider’s Russell Edge: “I get what you’re saying.
“But is De Jong going to be at the level of the Premier League? That’s the conundrum.
“Yes, if he had all the money in the world, he could be buying the best players like Pep Guardiola does. But possibly the money is not there.
“You can actually have empathy for a guy who is going to bring players that he knows.
“But are they going to be good enough for the Premier League? It’s the fastest, strongest, richest league in the world.”
De Jong played 59 times under Ten Hag during their time together at Ajax.
He has 138 appearances under his belt at Barcelona.
In other news, pundit claims Harry Maguire may be stripped of Man United captaincy after latest.