Although Manchester United have failed in their pursuit of Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong in recent years, it is certainly not for a lack of trying.
The Red Devils have been interested in the Dutch international for some time, mainly because of the close relationship between De Jong and the now dismissed manager Erik ten Hag.
While at United, Ten Hag had identified the defensive midfielder – whom he coached as Ajax – as one of his top targets, but a move to Old Trafford never came to fruition.
Now, according to The Athleticsit has been revealed the extent to which United tried to convince the 27-year-old to move to Manchester in 2022.
The outlet claims that United have even gone so far as to create a video that spotted De Jong alongside some of their club legends in an attempt to persuade him to join.
Manchester United have been keen to sign Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona in recent years
Former United boss Erik ten Hag had identified De Jong as one of his main transfer targets
However, the report went on to claim that De Jong had not even seen the video.
The 27-year-old moved to the LaLiga club in 2019 for an initial £64 million and has had a mixed spell at Barcelona, which has been plagued by off-field issues in recent years.
De Jong is also believed to be Barcelona’s top earner, where he reportedly earns £30million per season, which could rise further if a move to the Premier League is agreed.
It is claimed that failure to sign a top defensive midfielder had hampered Ten Hag’s progress at United ahead of the arrival of Manuel Ugarte this summer.
In the wake of Ten Hag’s departure from United, reports revealed – in addition to De Jong – three other names that the Dutchman had picked as top transfer targets.
According to ESPNTen Hag was frustrated that the club failed to sign De Jong, Alexis Mac Allister, Federico Valverde and Harry Kane.
The report further claims that United’s leaders found his demands ‘unrealistic’.
De Jong and Ten Hag have a close relationship after working together at Dutch giants Ajax
United’s interest in Harry Kane was well known, but they instead opted to sign Rasmus Hojlund as the England captain joined Bayern Munich.
In April last year, rumors suggested that United were keen to sign Mac Allister, who was starring for Brighton at the time, but the midfielder moved to Liverpool instead.
Meanwhile, Valverde has remained firmly at Madrid, likely due to his high wages and the huge transfer fee it would take to prize him away from the Bernabeu.