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After Manchester United announced the signing of their new manager Erik Ten Hag, countless players have been linked with the Red Devils. One such player has been Netherlands midfielder, Frenkie de Jong from Spanish giants Barcelona. According to a Spanish publication called Sport, Ten Hag is set to receive £210 million for the summer transfer window and his prime target will be De Jong for the United project.
But the Blaugrana manager Xavi is hoping that the Dutch midfielder will stay. "I haven’t talked with him about his future," disclosed the Barcelona manager before their La Liga fixture against Rayo Vallecano.
"He is playing at a very good level and has to continue here – he can be one of the best midfielders in the world for years to come. If it were up to me, I would continue here for many more years. He is very important and can mark an era here. He has to score, assist and he has to be the protagonist," Xavi continued.
Speaking in December, Xavi had proclaimed that the 24-year-old will not leave Barca as he is an integral part of the team. He said, "Frenkie de Jong will not leave the club. He’s not for sale. We consider Frenkie as a key player for Barca."
Meanwhile, Manchester United suffered another humiliating 3-1 defeat against Arsenal. Ten Hag was asked about the result and expressed that he has to still concentrate on his current job at Ajax. He said, “I always keep concentrated and focused on the job I have to do. It doesn’t matter what’s around me.”
“You always spend time on the future, but my head and my energy are for Ajax. I don’t have an opinion about that. I showed respect for the people now who are at Man United, and I’m responsible for Ajax.”
Manchester United's interim manager Ralf Rangnick also reacted to the defeat and said, "I think we showed an improved performance but in the end, it's a disappointing result. I think we bounced back well from the early goal and had numerous chances in both halves to score more goals.
"I thought the weak part of our performance today was that we didn't defend well inside and around our box. I felt there were three very unlucky VAR decisions today."