Man Utd need Frenkie de Jong to end miserable streak if Red Devils complete £72m transfer

Premier League transfer news and rumours: 30/5/22

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Frenkie de Jong will need to halt Manchester United’s run of signing expensive flops if he joins the Red Devils in a reported £72million transfer. United have a dismal recent record of big-money signings, making a blockbuster move for De Jong a massive risk. 

De Jong is a trusted lieutenant of incoming United boss Erik ten hag having played under the 52-year-old at Ajax. He completed a move to Barcelona in 2019 and has now been linked to a reunion with Ten Hag. 

Barca are not keen on losing De Jong and several reports have suggested that United could need to pay at least £72m to prise the midfielder away from Nou Camp. That would place the Holland international among the club’s top five most expensive signings. 

Intensifying reports of De Jong’s possible arrival at Old Trafford come in the same week that the Red Devils announced Paul Pogba’s departure on a free transfer. Pogba remains United’s most expensive arrival following his £89m switch from Juventus in 2016. 

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But the Frenchman never quite lived up to expectations despite flittering moments of world-class quality. Pogba’s final moment in a United shirt saw him cup his ears to booing supporters as they jeered him off in April.

He is top of a list of most expensive signings that will make supporters wince. It would be harsh to label Harry Maguire as a flop but the £80m handed to Leicester to sign the England defender in 2018 was a monumental overpayment. 

Like Pogba, club captain Maguire has enjoyed some successful moments at Old Trafford but is yet to perform consistently enough to justify the fee. He has frequently targeted by supporters for criticism last term. 

At least Maguire remains at the club, though, and will have a chance to rekindle his United career under Ten Hag. The same cannot be said for three of the list, with Pogba joining Romelu Lukaku and Angel di Maria in departing having failed to live up to their transfer fees. 

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Lukaku was, incredibly, a £76m arrival from Everton in 2017. Just two years later, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer unconvinced by the Belgian, he departed after scoring 42 times in 96 appearances. 

The 29-year-old’s £97.5m move from Inter Milan to Chelsea last summer made him the most expensive player in world football in terms of accumulated transfer fees. That deal has hardly worked out either, with Lukaku already linked with a return to Italy. 

Di Maria was once fourth on the list of United’s most expensive signings but was relegated to fifth when Jadon Sancho was signed for £72m last summer. The Argentine was a blockbuster, then-club record £67m buy in 2014 but left a year later having failed to perform under Louis van Gaal. 

There was evidence of Sancho being a success at Old Trafford last term but he will certainly hope for a better campaign under Ten Hag. De Jong will need to bust the stereotype of United’s most expensive signings failing to deliver. 

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