Manchester United and Chelsea are currently battling over Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong, and former Premier League manager Harry Redknapp has revealed what he has heard from someone right at the top of the game about the future of the Dutchman.
Where Frenkie de Jong Wants to Go This Summer Revealed by Harry Redknapp
🚨 Harry Redknapp: “De Jong wants to go to Chelsea. I know that for a fact”
Take it with a grain of salt if you’d like, but you should know Alex wasn’t even asking Harry about Frenkie de Jong, so this was offered up. Just recorded, full episode not even out yet. pic.twitter.com/6znYNoYd37
— The Byline (@TheByline__) August 5, 2022
What Redknapp Said
In an interview with The Byline, Redknapp discussed De Jong’s future, apparently bringing this topic up despite not having been asked about it.
“Now it looks like De Jong wants to go to Chelsea; I know that for a fact that he wants to go to Chelsea.
“So, Manchester United are not going to get him, I’ve heard that from somebody right at the very, very, very top at Manchester United, he really wants to go to Chelsea.
“So if he goes to Chelsea and Manchester United don’t get him, then I don’t know where they’re going. And if Chelsea get him, then he’ll be a fantastic signing for them.”
What This Means for United
The Red Devils are in a sticky situation which has only been heightened by this news.
They start the new Premier League campaign on Sunday but are yet to sign a central midfielder, which is where they needed to strengthen the most this summer.
Their current options in the position are Fred, Scott McTominay, Donny van de Beek, and James Garner. The former two have been United’s go-to duo for some time, but have not shown that they as a pair have what it takes to bring the Manchester side back to their former glory.
Van de Beek is arguably an even worse option, having struggled to make an impact since joining in 2020 and having failed to improve on that while on loan with Everton at the end of last season.
The most exciting of this group, Garner is something of an unknown quantity in the English top flight having never started a Premier League match before. After much success during a temporary spell with Nottingham Forest, many want to know if he can bring that level to the top of the game and perform at the Theatre of Dreams.
🚨🎖| As of today, Frenkie de Jong’s entourage says that the player has not changed his position and he insists on continuing in Barcelona and honoring his contract. [@ffpolo] #fcblive pic.twitter.com/BiQRH1WIiK
— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) August 6, 2022