Rio Ferdinand has explained that a Manchester United deal for Frenkie de Jong will be “too difficult” and feels they should instead sign Mateo Kovacic.
United are a side on the rise at the moment. A season after they finished sixth under Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag has got the side back to their rightful place in the top four.
Indeed, they finished third this year and will hope in the coming seasons they can win the title. Ten Hag has shown them how to win silverware again already, having led United to League Cup triumph as well as a chance at an FA Cup win, too.
Players that were already at the club when Ten Hag joined and his signings are each partly responsible for the rise.
One of the main areas of the pitch that has impressed this season is the midfield. Casemiro and Christian Eriksen have combined to make one of the best midfield pairings in the league.
Neither of those players were at the club when Ten Hag walked through the door. Had the manager got his way in the summer, they might not have had the chance to form their solid partnership.
Indeed, the Dutchman’s no 1 target for much of the summer window was Barcelona’s De Jong. The midfielder confirmed recently that he had been courted by United, and Barca were “able to sell” him for a “big fee”.
While he stayed put last summer and wants to remain, Ten Hag still wants him to join the ranks at Old Trafford.
Ferdinand tells United to go for Kovacic instead
Indeed, having seen how new signings impacted his side last summer, it’s no surprise Ten Hag has big plans for this one. That De Jong doesn’t want to move could make it a tricky snare, though.
United legend Ferdinand is of the opinion that signing the Dutchman would be hard and the club should end their interest.
“It sounds too difficult and too complicated [to sign Frenkie de Jong], move on,” he said on Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE.
Instead, he feels his former club should be going after a Chelsea star.
“I think Kovacic has got a year left. I like him… He’s different to what we’ve got,” Ferdinand said.
Kovacic deal has legs
United could quite easily complete the snare of Kovacic if they wanted. He’s ‘likely’ to leave Stamford Bridge, with multiple reports suggesting he’ll be one of quite a few high-profile exits.
Chelsea won’t care too much who he’s sold to, as long as he is sold. That’s because he’s got a year left on his deal, and they’ll want to make as much money as possible from him before the time comes when he’d be able to leave for free.
That’s apparently going to be one of their main strategies for selling players this summer.
With that being said, United could be in with a good chance of completing the snare. They’ll have Manchester City and Bayern Munich to potentially compete with, but given Chelsea need to sell up, they might accept whatever offer comes first, within reason.
