Manchester United could turn to the signings of Rúben Neves and Youri Tielemans if their proposed transfer for Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong falls through.
That is according to Dean Jones, who has been speaking to This is Futbol about Manchester United’s transfer plans this summer.
Erik ten Hag’s side had agreed a package deal with the La Liga club for around roughly £72m for the Netherlands midfielder, but the player is unconvinced on the prospect of joining the Red Devils and has travelled with the Catalan giants on their pre-season tour of the United States.
However, both Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Neves and Leicester City’s Tielemans have also been linked with moves to Old Trafford this summer, and could prove to be alternatives if the de Jong deal collapses.
And Jones believes that United could turn to the Portugal and Belgium internationals if the club can’t get the de Jong deal over the line.
“If the de Jong deal were to collapse, I don’t think it’s a disaster for United.
“I think they could get by.
“But it wouldn’t surprise me at all if in the last few weeks, they then turn to someone like Neves or Tielemans.”
TIF Thoughts on Jones comments
We believe that both Neves (£60m price tag) and Tielemans (£50m price tag) would prove to be excellent signings for Manchester United this season, should ten Hag’s side fail to secure the signing of the Barcelona man.
With the Wolves man and Leicester man having respective average SofaScore ratings of 7.11 and 7.08 for their Premier League performances last season, ten Hag’s side could do much worse than secure these consistent performers for his side last season.
And with the de Jong deal seemingly making no progress on the personal terms side, it might make sense for ten Hag to turn his attention to the pair as soon as possible.