TalkSPORT pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor has compared possible Manchester United transfer Frenkie de Jong with a past move for Angel Di Maria.
According to The Athletic, there has been a deal agreed for the purchase of De Jong between Manchester United and Barcelona this summer, but there have been added altercations as the Spanish side owe De Jong money, which has slowed down proceedings.
Although United have focused on De Jong for the majority of the transfer window, they have set their eyes on another midfielder this summer, as they have been linked with Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans, who has just one year remaining on his current contract with the Foxes.
United have been persistent in their pursuit to sign De Jong this summer but reports suggest he’d prefer a move to Chelsea. Agbonlahor claimed on talkSPORT that he finds it difficult to understand why they want a player who does not want to join them.
“De Jong is the answer, but why would Manchester United bring in De Jong when they could have a similar situation with Di Maria?
“He didn’t want to be there, didn’t work, ended up leaving very quickly, and why would you want a player who didn’t really want to come to you?” Agbonlahor said.
Who will sign De Jong?United
Chelsea
|
TIF Thoughts on Agbonlahor’s comments…
Although Ten Hag has previously worked with De Jong at Ajax, the deal to United for the Dutch midfielder has not gone smoothly, which is largely down to the financial situation at Barcelona but could also be an indication that he does not want a move to the Manchester club.
The midfielder might not be keen on joining United because he is currently playing in the Champions League with Barcelona, and he will be dropping down to United who just scrapped Europa League qualification on the final day of the season, so it will be interesting to see where he ends up when the transfer saga ends this summer.
One thing is for sure, if De Jong does end up in Manchester, they won’t want another Di Maria situation on their hands.