Sir Alex Ferguson assistant tells Man Utd to ‘do everything’ to land De Jong

Former Manchester United assistant manager Rene Meulenstein has told the club to “do everything” to land Barcelona midfielder and Erik ten Hag favourite Frenkie De Jong this summer. The Dutchman had hoped to reunite with his ex-Ajax playmaker last year but was unable to prise him away from the Spanish club, though could yet return as United look to bolster their squad.

Negotiations rumbled on all last summer as Ten Hag appeared intent on working with De Jong once again, but the 26-year-old got his wish to stay at Barcelona before going on to play a key role in their La Liga title win. However, United are reportedly interested in bringing in another star midfielder this summer and Ten Hag has endorsed a second pitch to the Netherlands international.

His view on De Jong has been co-signed by Meulenstein, who spent 12 years at United and helped Sir Alex Ferguson to three Premier League titles and their Champions League final victory in 2008. The now-Australia assistant believes that United should “do everything” to sign De Jong ahead of next season.

Speaking to Manchester United’s official Scandinavian supporters’ club, the Dutch coach said: “They need a really good midfield player. Yes, they’ve got Casemiro in there. You’ve got Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes – a lot of experience, a lot of qualities – but there’s also a little bit of a vulnerability because their mindsets are predominantly in going forward.

“I would 100 per cent do everything to get De Jong. He’s got energy, he’s got legs, he’s tactically very, very good in the build-up. For De Jong, I think to be fairly honest, he would have already been here if he had not been happy at Barcelona.

“But he’s obviously very happy playing for Barcelona otherwise he would have said: ‘Okay, no problem, sort me out’, because there’s always a way to fill that financial gap. That can never be the reason. But I can see why Ten Hag is chasing him.”