Man Utd prepare to meet Frenkie de Jong’s Barcelona after being snubbed by midfielder last summer

Frenkie de Jong’s timing has always been one of his strong points – important interceptions and runs into the box – and it’s right on the money again because he has hit top form just as the club that tried to sign him in the summer arrives in town.

On Sunday against Villarreal De Jong won the ball back 17 times – more than any other player. He also played more passes as Barcelona won to move 11 points clear at the top. There are many reasons why they are the runaway leaders but he is one of the single most important.

He could have been doing all this at Manchester United only his desire to stay in Barcelona stopped him moving to Old Trafford. Erik ten Hag already knew the player from Ajax and he had zero doubts that he would be the signing of the summer if he could be convinced.

Barcelona needed no convincing. They are still trying to reduce their wage bill by around €200m (£177m) – De Jong’s departure for around €75m (£67m)  would have gone a long way to balancing their books.

Barça had Valencia’s Carlos Soler lined up to replace him from Valencia (he eventually moved to Paris Saint Germain) and there was even a campaign in certain club-friendly media to make De Jong out as the bad guy – digging his heels in when his wages were holding Barcelona back. There were claims that his contract was illegal and he was played at centre-back on the summer tour. 

Frenkie de Jong is set to line up against the club that wanted to sign him last summer this week

Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United failed in their attempts to prise him away from Barcelona

De Jong was determined to stay put despite Xavi not being completely sold on the midfielder

It could have been worse; they had even planned on leaving him on the airport tarmac to think on his decision to stay. But all that only reinforced his resolve; he was not going to be forced out.

He had just brought an apartment with his girlfriend Mikky Kiemeney in the city. She did not want the move and he felt that convincing Xavi, who had not been entirely persuaded he was worth fighting for, was still possible.

After failing to get their man, Ten Hag and United switched their focus to luring Casemiro away from Real Madrid, and it must be said that the £70m midfielder has proved worthy of his controversial transfer fee so far, producing a string of impressive displays. 

Though given he is turning 31 this month, 25-year-old De Jong remains the more attractive long-term option for United heading into this summer’s transfer window.

Xavi has been won over. He has paired De Jong with Sergio Busquets in central midfield and if the veteran leaves at the end of the season when his contract runs out then Xavi will urge the club to sign a new holding midfielder. De Jong has proved he can play the Busquets role but when he does his license to burst forward and carry Barcelona attacks is diminished and that takes too much away from his game.

At the weekend he not only played more passes than anyone else, he played more passes in the final third. One chip sent Pedri away for what would have been one of the goals of the season and his delicate pass into Robert Lewandowski set-up the goal that won Barça the game.

None of this surprises the man who has to draw up a plan to stop him on Thursday. When Ten Hag took over at Ajax in 2017 he was the one who conjured up this hybrid role for De Jong in midfield, the one that gives him some holding midfield responsibilities but that also has him on a long leash to power forward knowing his back will be covered.

There are those at Ajax who believe Ten Hag switched from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1 to accommodate De Jong and likewise at Barcelona – although it’s a sensitive subject when Barça appear to be using a system that isn’t 4-3-3 or 3-4-4 – Xavi has tinkered to get the best possible tune out of his Dutch international.

Casemiro has proven a successful backup option for United since missing out on De Jong

But they arrive in Barcelona this week to face a high-flying side inspired by their top target

De Jong has been key to Barca moving 11 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga

The question being asked at Barcelona now is: will he be shop-windowed again this summer to bring money to the club? Barça say half of the €200m they need to wipe off their wage bill will be taken care of by the departures during this season of Gerard Pique and Antoine Griezmann. That still leaves 100m to find.

But the desire is to do what ever it takes to make sure the money can be found elsewhere. They have winger Abde out on loan at Osasuna and he will return to take a first team place that will free them up to cash in on either Raphinha or Ansu Fati. They will also ask Jordi Alba to take a pay cut and he has indicated that he will in what will be his final year. And if Busquets stays beyond the end of the season it will be on a far lower salary. They will look to boost sponsorship, they will negotiate with La Liga, they will do what they have to in order to ensure that the midielder they were pushing out of the door just six months ago is as far from the exit as possible.

And of course if all their attempts fail and De Jong is still their most saleable asset then they know in Ten Hag they have a willing buyer. Not that De Jong’s desire to leave is likely to be any greater than it was in the summer – not after having become so important alongside Pedri and Gavi in Barça’s midfield.