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It remains highly unlikely that it will be repeated in this case, given United’s strong hand in negotiations with a club who not only desperately need the funds from the player’s sale but also need his £290,000-a-week salary off their books.īut that does not mean it’s a done deal and Arnold and Murtough must ensure they do not make the same mistake Woodward made in 2013. This is the sort of doomsday scenario Arnold, Murtough and Ten Hag are desperate to avoid. Indeed the only player United did sign that summer was Marouane Fellaini from Everton, and even that was completed post-deadline and came close to being botched. When Woodward flew back to Europe on that Wednesday in July nine years ago he and the club’s recently recruited manager David Moyes had pinpointed Cesc Fàbregas, then of Barcelona, as the signing to kickstart the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, but the Spaniard never arrived. This featured Ed Woodward, Arnold’s predecessor, leaving United’s tour in Australia to “ attend to urgent transfer business”. But should De Jong not be on the plane to Bangkok the spectre of the farcical summer of 2013 will inevitably be raised. The mood emanating from United is bullish in regards De Jong’s arrival, the belief firmly being that it is a case of when not if. If that cannot be achieved the plan is to ensure De Jong is a United player before the opening game of the new Premier League season, against Brighton at Old Trafford on 7 August, something Arnold and Murtough believe is achievable. Ten Hag wants the 25-year-old in place for the what would be his first match in charge, against Liverpool in Bangkok four days after United arrive in the far east. The ideal outcome is that De Jong’s signing will be sealed before United fly to Thailand for their pre-season tour on 8 July.
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So Arnold and Murtough will not be rushed in their pursuit of the player and are readying a second bid of around €70m plus add-ons for him, having seen an offer of €60m plus bonuses turned down by Barcelona. Their stance is that though De Jong is Ten Hag’s prime target there is no need to panic, because Barcelona are in a precarious financial position and so need to sell, and there appear to be zero competitors for the Netherlands midfielder, and certainly not from clubs with the financial resources to gazump United. So, understandably, Arnold and his football director, John Murtough, remain calm.įrenkie de Jong is Manchester United’s top transfer target and they are confident of landing the Dutch midfielder from Barcelona. It is still early in a transfer window that does not officially open until 1 July, with the squad assembling for the first time next month, when Ten Hag will speak to his players as a group for the first time. The only transfer action that has taken place United so far this summer has been a slew of exits: Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard and Edinson Cavani have all departed for no fee. Ten Hag wanted Núñez too and as Haaland is world football’s emerging superstar centre-forward, United fans see the Premier League’s pre-eminent forces and their two fiercest rivals already strengthening while their club is drawing a blank.įurther rejection came from another Ten Hag target in Christian Eriksen, with the Dane favouring either remaining at Brentford or returning to Tottenham. Starting with Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong, then a forward – Ajax’s Antony, possibly – and, maybe, a defender after Jurrien Timber turned down the chance to join Erik ten Hag in moving from Amsterdam to Manchester, the 21-year-old’s decision based on his desire to ensure he keeps his place in the Netherlands’ squad with a World Cup looming.Īcross town, Manchester City have secured Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund and, slightly further afield, Liverpool have recruited Darwin Núñez from Benfica (not to mention Fabio Carvalho from Fulham and Calvin Ramsay from Aberdeen). There is, though, real pressure to have a successful window.