De Jong turns down Ten Hag

Manchester United are planning for next season and they are in a rush to find out whether or not they will have De Jong in their ranks. United have asked the Dutchman to make his decision once and for all. 

Erik ten Hag has questioned the Barca centremidfielder, and according to recent reports, it seems as though he is not open to making the move. The journalist, Oriol Domenech, on the 'Onze' programme for 'TV3', explained that the manager personally contacted De Jong.

Ten Hag called De Jong in an attempt to convince him to make the move from Barcelona. However, the Dutch manager received a firm "no" in response. De Jong does not want to play in a team that is not in the Champions League.

According to the aforementioned source, the coach wanted to play down the subject of Champions League football. "The Champions League? Don't worry, it'll only be a year...", were Ten Hag's words to his former player at Ajax.

But the centremidfielder is clear. He is not going to make a new step in his career and, for the moment at least, he does not want to play in a team that is not in Europe's most elite club competition.