Manchester United: Erik ten Hag opens the door to a fresh bid for Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong

Erik ten Hag opened the door to a new offer for Frenkie de Jong as he showered the Barcelona star with praise ahead of Manchester United’s Europa League tie at Camp Nou.

The two clubs seemed to have reached an agreement for De Jong last summer, but the Dutchman opted to stay with the Catalan giants.

The decision has paid off for De Jong, who is back in the team and playing his best football, as Barca have risen to the top of La Liga.

However, it is understood that Ten Hag has not given up hope of signing the man who launched his career under United at Ajax, and could make another offer at the end of the season.

Ten Hag was effusive in his praise for De Jong ahead of the play-off first leg at the Camp Nou on Thursday night.

He said: ‘Frenkie is an incredible player. For all the clubs in the world, he will strengthen the squad because he has a unique quality. If you can have him on the team, your team will be stronger.

‘We (Ajax) had a class in 2019 that was a team with a lot of fascination. It brings a lot of fascination and develops, and in Spain it became even better.

He is a fantastic player. He plays from behind, he always has time and it was a pleasure to work with him.

Earlier, Barca manager Xavi insisted De Jong is happy at the club after all the speculation about his future last summer when a problem with unpaid wages at his club proved to be a stumbling block in negotiations.

“I think he was very happy,” Xavi said. He wanted to stay with us, there was no doubt. He is our player and I am very happy with his leadership and performance. I think Frenkie enjoys being on the pitch and that’s the most important thing.”