Manchester United might be getting tired of waiting for Frenkie de Jong and instead turning their attention to Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans, according to a new report.
United’s protracted pursuit of De Jong has dragged on all summer and the player is still refusing to leave Barcelona.
If he were to leave Barcelona, some reports say it would be for Bayern Munich or Chelsea as he is not keen on Manchester as a city or the way United is run as a club.
Whether or not any of this is true, there is certainly something holding up the deal and United are now reported to be starting to look elsewhere, their first port of call being Leicester.
CBS Sports’ Ben Jacobs first tweeted about Arsenal’s interest in the talented midfielder, who is entering the final year of his contract with the Foxes without any sign of wanting to extend.
Jacobs then added:
“Man United’s interest in Tielemans is genuine, too, and growing.
“He’s a far cheaper and less complicated option than Frenkie de Jong.
“Erik ten Hag has put him on a midfield shortlist.
“Tielemans indicated under Ralf Rangnick he didn’t want to move to #MUFC but ten Hag may revisit.”
Man United’s interest in Tielemans is genuine, too, and growing. He’s a far cheaper and less complicated option than Frenkie de Jong. Erik ten Hag has put him on a midfield shortlist. Tielemans indicated under Ralf Rangnick he didn’t want to move to #MUFC but ten Hag may revisit.
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) July 20, 2022
With Arsenal potentially needing to sell before they can buy according to Jacobs, United could be in a strong position.
However, the timing of this report is a little suspicious as it could be interpreted as a response to the De Jong Chelsea – Bayern rumours, which could well have been started by Barcelona.
With €17 million owed to de Jong in back pay, Barça may be scaremongering United into offering to settle some or all of the amount on the Blaugrana’s behalf rather than risk losing the player to a rival.
United, in turn, could have put out the Tielemans story to scare Barcelona into paying up or finding another solution before they lose their buyers.
Summer wouldn’t be summer without an excruciatingly painful United transfer story and this one is turning out to be one of the worst of the lot.
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