Ten Hag’s private reaction after Man Utd missed out on De Jong deal

De Jong quizzed on Man Utd transfer links in June

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Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag was ‘disappointed’ when the club failed to sign Frenkie de Jong back in the summer transfer window, according to reports. The Barcelona star had been a priority target for the Red Devils. However, with the Netherlands international unwilling to leave the Nou Camp for Old Trafford, Casemiro ended up arriving as an alternative instead.

Manchester United spent the majority of the summer transfer window pursuing De Jong, believing Ten Hag’s close relationship with the player could convince him to move to Old Trafford.

In the end, however, they missed out with the Barcelona star reluctant to leave the Nou Camp – having long dreamed of wearing the club’s famous red and blue colours ever since he was a child.

According to the Manchester Evening News, Ten Hag was ‘disappointed’ by United’s failure to sign De Jong – especially given how they spent a quarter of a year chasing the 25-year-old.

But Casemiro has been a substantial hit since moving to the club.

The Brazil international was a secret signing for United, with interest in the Samba star only emerging just before a deal was eventually struck.

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When Casemiro first arrived, he had to be patient. United didn’t want to rush him into action, especially with Scott McTominay in such good form at the time.

But the 30-year-old has gone from strength to strength in the time since, establishing himself as one of the first names on Ten Hag’s team sheet in the process.

It’s possible United will try and sign De Jong in the future, with Ten Hag believing there’s no player like the Barcelona star in the whole of world football.

However, for the time being, it seems as though the Red Devils are looking at bolstering other areas of their squad instead.

United want a new right-back to provide competition for Diogo Dalot, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka expected to leave in the New Year amid links to the likes of Crystal Palace and Fulham.

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And a new forward is being eyed following the bitter departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo had been struggling for game time at United this season, with the 37-year-old behind the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial in the pecking order.

He then decided to criticise the club, and Ten Hag, in an interview with Piers Morgan.

And United then opted to cut Ronaldo loose, saying his contract had been ‘mutually terminated’ while believing the veteran had given them no other choice in the matter.

One forward the club have interest in is PSV Eindhoven star Cody Gakpo, who has netted three World Cup goals from four appearances for the Netherlands this winter.

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And he recently refused to rule out leaving PSV in January, saying: “I have to be honest, I am not thinking about that now.

“I am focused on the tournament and want to keep performing well, to keep helping the team.

“Hopefully, when we become world champions we can think about other things. I try to keep focused and the other players don’t really speak about that kind of thing.”

An alternative to Gakpo could be Rafael Leao, of AC Milan.

But the Portugal international would be a difficult signing to make given his importance to the Serie A giants as they look to retain the Scudetto this season.

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Paul Scholes, meanwhile, thinks both Gakpo or Christopher Nkunku would be good replacements for Ronaldo at his former club.

“We have Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford who can both play there, but I think Marcus prefers being out wide and Anthony’s injury record isn’t great,” he said.

“January might be too soon [to replace Ronaldo], they’re probably looking at next summer now, but I do think there are players out there.

“The lad at PSV – Gakpo – is doing really well for the Netherlands at the World Cup and I think Ten Hag has been really interested in him before.

“There are players out there for sure. January can be a tough window to do business but I hope we can do something and bring in a new centre forward.”

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