Manc Utd ‘consider Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong as replacement for Pogba’
Manchester United ‘are interested in Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong’ as they scout potential replacements for Paul Pogba.
The French midfielder is expected to leave Old Trafford when his contract expires next summer and will be able to begin negotiations with potential suitors from January.
But United may have already identified the player to fill Pogba’s boots in 24-year-old Holland international De Jong.
Reports in Spain have suggested cash-strapped Barcelona are willing to let De Jong leave the Nou Camp for £75million, just three years after they signed him from Ajax.
Manchester City have been linked with him, with some reports hinting a swap deal for Raheem Sterling could be in the offing.
But The Independent say that United could also join the race for a player who has racked up 107 appearances for Barcelona since his £65m transfer in 2019.
De Jong, who has made 38 appearances for Holland, was seen as Barcelona’s future but their colossal debt of over £1billion is likely to force a firesale of key players.
United’s lack of an effective central midfield was a contributing factor to the poor run of results that led to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer getting the sack over the weekend.
Pogba is currently out injured with a thigh problem but the French World Cup winner has never scaled the expected heights since returning to United in 2016.
He wants his current £290,000-a-week contract to be doubled to match the £480,000-a-week of top earner Cristiano Ronaldo if he is to consider staying at United.
With Pogba linked to Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and former club Juventus, his agent Mino Raiola fanned the flames by saying last week that ‘December is the month of dreams’ when it comes to transfers.