The Erik ten Hag era has got off to the worst possible start with Manchester United suffering back-to-back defeats against Brighton and Brentford.
What has compounded matters is the fact that the club has failed to back the Dutchman, bringing in only three signings with quite a few gaping holes to fix. With time running out, United are in a mad scramble as they look to get a few deals over the lines.
One of the longest running sagas of this transfer window has been whether Frenkie de Jong will leave Barcelona and join his compatriot at Old Trafford.
More than a month back it was reported that United had agreed a fee with the Catalan club. But that is when things started getting complicated.
Xavi prefers Bernardo Silva over Frenkie de Jong. The club agree, as Bernardo would earn a much lower salary.
— @sport
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) August 16, 2022
The last month has seen everything — from De Jong asking for his deferred wages, Barca’s inability to pay to the club’s attempts to force the midfielder to accept another salary reduction.
The Catalan giants are aware of the fact that with time running out, the player’s position becomes stronger and they need to recruit a few more players.
Bernardo over FDJ
The La Liga side want to add Bernardo Silva to their ranks with Xavi insisting that the Portuguese playmaker can elevate the team to the next level.
According to SPORT, Xavi feels Silva can contribute more than De Jong and despite this, the head coach has publicly praised the Netherlands international.
“The technicians and the sports area would prefer to have Bernardo Silva here ahead of De Jong, because they consider that due to his type of game and qualities he could be much more decisive at Barça,” the article says.
Barca have been working in secret on this deal since the transfer market opened but with time running out, things are getting tense. They know that they will need to offload the Dutchman in order to buy the Manchester City midfield operator.
Interesting, the publication also mentions that the Portugal international will earn substantially less than De Jong and is guaranteed to be a starter under Xavi.
The club had high hopes from the former Ajax star but he has not touched those heights during his three-year spell with the Catalan club. Now it is a matter of time to see who budges first.
United and Ten Hag are both hoping a resolution can be reached sooner rather than later with the Premier League giants struggling to control games in the centre of the park.
