Paul Pogba replacement? 80m euro Frenkie De Jong to Manchester United ‘95%’ likely to happen

Shocking news has emerged from Barcelona sources that suggests that a move to Manchester United for Blaugrana midfield star Frenkie De Jong is almost complete ahead of the summer transfer window.

De Jong has struggled at times at the Camp Nou since his move from Ajax in 2019, but has still been a mainstay in the midfield of the Catalan club, racking up 30 La Liga appearances this season alone, and having turned out in Claret and Blue a total of 138 times to date.

He may not do so much more, however, if the generally reliable Gerard Romero is to be believed, as the Spanish source claims that

☎️ NOTICIA @jijantesfc

Antes del final de liga y con un 95% de probabilidades, Frenkie De Jong va a ser traspasado al Manchester United. Es un tema económico puro y duro. El Barça necesita vender un jugador que en el club no ha sido top

Lo ampliamos en https://t.co/ddsJTtAFRd

— Gerard Romero (@gerardromero) May 11, 2022

And, while he warns that the situation may still change, he claims that as of mid-May, there is a 95% chance of a deal being struck, with the reasons for the sale apparently solely economic.

‘With a 95% probability, Frenkie De Jong will be transferred to Manchester United. It is a pure economic issue. Barça needs to sell a player who has not been top at the club’, he claims.

‘At the club they are clear that if he continues for one more season and the player does not explode, he will lose value and Barça will lose money’

Any deal would be struck for a fee between 70 and 80 million euros, Romero adds.

A happy reunion?

Should a move go through as it now seems likely to, it would reunite the midfielder with incoming boss Erik ten Hag, under whom the 24-year-old made his name at Ajax. It would also massively add to the quality in the Red Devils’ midfield, with Paul Pogba on his way out leaving just Fred and Scott McTominay as options in the middle of the pitch.

(l-r) Frenkie de Jong of Ajax, Ajax coach Erik ten Hag during the Florida Cup 2019 match between Ajax Amsterdam v Sao Paulo FC at Orlando City Stadium on January 12, 2019 in Orlando, United States(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)

It would make sense for Barcelona too, with the club in dire need of funds and De Jong one of their most expensive assets. While they would not be happy to lose him, the emergence of Pedri and Gavi in successive seasons has somewhat softened the blow in midfield.

Bringing De Jong to Old Trafford would certainly be a statement signing for Ten Hag.

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	Manchester City	35	68	86
2	Liverpool FC	36	65	86
3	Chelsea FC	35	39	67
4	Arsenal FC	35	14	66
5	Tottenham Hotspur	35	20	62
6	Manchester United	37	1	58
7	West Ham United	36	11	55
8	Wolverhampton Wanderers	35	1	50
9	Brighton & Hove Albion	36	-4	47
10	Crystal Palace	35	4	44
11	Aston Villa	35	-1	43
12	Brentford FC	36	-8	43
13	Newcastle United	36	-21	43
14	Leicester City	34	-7	42
15	Southampton FC	36	-20	40
16	Everton FC	34	-19	35
17	Burnley FC	35	-17	34
18	Leeds United	35	-35	34
19	Watford FC	35	-38	22
20	Norwich City	35	-53	21

Player	Team	Goals
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	22
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	20
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	18
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	15
Jota, Diogo	Liverpool FC	15
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	15
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	13
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City	13
Zaha, Wilfried	Crystal Palace	13
Toney, Ivan	Brentford FC	12
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City	12
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	11
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	11
Mahrez, Riyad	Manchester City	11
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	10
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	10
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	10
Pukki, Teemu	Norwich City	10
Raphinha	Leeds United	10
Smith-Rowe, Emile	Arsenal FC	10

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
Brownhill, Josh	Burnley FC	0	10
Bednarek, Jan	Southampton FC	0	10
Tarkowski, James	Burnley FC	0	10
Bissouma, Yves	Brighton & Hove Albion	0	10
Firpo, Junior	Leeds United	0	10
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	0	9
Gallagher, Conor	Crystal Palace	0	9
Neves, Ruben	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	9
Mings, Tyrone	Aston Villa	0	9
Xhaka, Granit	Arsenal FC	1	8
Mctominay, Scott	Manchester United	0	9
Salisu, Mohammed	Southampton FC	0	8
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	0	8
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	0	7
Richarlison	Everton FC	0	8
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	1	7
James, Daniel	Leeds United	1	7
Alonso, Marcos	Chelsea FC	0	8
Moreno, Rodrigo	Leeds United	0	8
McGinn, John	Aston Villa	0	8

Player	Team	Assists
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	13
Alexander-Arnold, Trent	Liverpool FC	12
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	10
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	10
Robertson, Andy	Liverpool FC	10
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	9
Barnes, Harvey	Leicester City	9
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	9
Cancelo, Joao	Manchester City	9
Jesus, Gabriel	Manchester City	8
Kulusevski, Dejan	Tottenham Hotspur	8
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	7
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	7
Lacazette, Alexandre	Arsenal FC	7
James, Reece	Chelsea FC	7
Mbeumo, Bryan	Brentford FC	7
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	6
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	6
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	6
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United	6