De Jong makes Man Utd admission after being left 'very upset' by transfer saga

Long-term Manchester United target Frenkie de Jong has refused to rule out a future transfer to the Premier League.

The Barcelona playmaker, 26, was heavily linked with United last summer after being identified as a primary transfer target by Erik ten Hag. A deal worth £70million including add-ons was even agreed between United and the Spanish giants, but De Jong had no appetite in pursuing such a move.

Fast forward 18 months, De Jong is still at Barcelona and enjoying life under Xavi Hernandez. But his latest comments could reignite the transfer saga which dominated the narrative at Old Trafford for the majority of last summer.

In an interview with Dutch outlet NOS, De Jong said: "I am at the club where I always wanted to be, where I dreamed of [Barcelona]." When he was then asked if experiencing a new league held any appeal, he added: "Possibly. But I’m very satisfied at Barca. It's always difficult to say. For now I feel good here!"

While De Jong has seemingly left the door open for a future switch to Old Trafford, it emerged back in October that the Netherlands international had been left 'very upset' with how the Barcelona hierarchy handled last summer's saga.

According to Sport, the midfield maestro was far from impressed with Barcelona's attempts to offload him after making it clear he wanted to stay.

The report went on to outline how the situation had a detrimental impact on De Jong's relationship with the Nou Camp hierarchy. However, time has enabled the relationship between player and board to be repaired.

Ten Hag has made no secret of his admiration for De Jong, who he coached for 18 months while they were both at Ajax. Speaking back in February ahead of Manchester United's meeting with Barcelona in the Europa League, he said: "In 2019, there was a lot of fascination with that Ajax team. Frenkie brought a lot of that fascination and he has developed over the following years in Spain.

"He's a fantastic player and has become even better. Playing out from the back, he always has time. It was a pleasure working with him. He would strengthen any squad in the world. He's got unique quality."