Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Richard Arnold admits ‘things standing in our way’ after being caught issuing Frenkie de Jong to Man Utd update

Richard Arnold working for Manchester United

Manchester United are “doing everything possible” to sign Frenkie de Jong, club CEO Richard Arnold has been heard revealing.

De Jong is a top target for Manchester United at the beginning of the Erik ten Hag era. The new manager wants to reunite with the midfielder, whom he coached at Ajax. In turn, current employers Barcelona seem open to a sale.

However, there are still several hurdles to clear. Convincing De Jong to ditch Champions League football for the time being has been one obstacle, for example.

But his stance has seemed to be softening over time. Hence, there could be optimism over a deal being arranged for Manchester United to take him.

It would certainly be beneficial, given they are losing a few players in his midfield position. Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata are all finding new clubs this summer.

Therefore, United should be focusing their energies on restructuring their engine room. In that regard, CEO Arnold has now made no secret of their pursuit of De Jong.

Speaking to fans (who had been planning to protest outside his place of residence) on a clip found on social media, Arnold said: “As a club we’re doing everything possible to get the deal done.

“I’ve been up for days trying to get it done. The money is there but there’s things standing in our way which I can’t say.”

If De Jong does arrive, he will be hoping to do better than some other high-profile signings United have made in recent years.

Richard Arnold ‘not thrilled’ after ‘nightmare’ year

Indeed, Arnold explicitly admitted their transfer record has not been positive.

He said: “We’ve f***ing burned through cash. We spent a billion pounds on players, we spent more than anyone in Europe.

Erik Ten Hag expects Frenkie De Jong to complete Manchester United move

Erik Ten Hag expects Frenkie De Jong to complete Manchester United move

Manchester United manager expects Frenkie De Jong to complete move from Barcelona this summer, but why?

“I am not thrilled with where we are; it doesn’t sit easy and we’ve got to get this sorted. You can’t go to our training ground and go, ‘show me where that billion pounds is here’.

“I don’t think we’ve done well with the money we’ve spent historically.

“We’ve blown through an enormous amount of money. Last year was a f***ing nightmare. I was hating every minute of it.”

United ended up finishing sixth in the Premier League. Now, a new era is about to begin under the reign of Ten Hag. Only time will tell how much help he gets in reshaping his squad.

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