John Barnes believes Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong would be a “brilliant signing” for Manchester United and that he should replace Paul Pogba.
The Man Utd midfielder is out of contract in 2022 and his future is in doubt. He has been linked with a move to Real Madrid of late.
Pogba has been out of action since November as a result of a hamstring injury.
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De Jong made a name for himself at Ajax before he joined Barcelona in 2019 for a fee in the region of €75m.
The Dutchman has been ever-present for the Spanish giants over the past couple of years but a move to United has been mentioned in recent weeks.
Barnes has suggested that De Jong “has everything” United would need:
“Frenkie de Jong would be a brilliant signing for Manchester United,’ Barnes told BonusCodeBets, as cited by The Metro.
“It looks like Paul Pogba is on his way out of the club so bringing in a replacement for him is very important.
“Especially if that person is a young and talented player who will get the opportunity to be one of the main players at the club.
“He has everything in terms of passing range, intensity and a great attitude. It’s exactly what Manchester United need in midfield.
“That was their plan with Donny Van de Beek. But of course he’s been stifled by other players in his position playing better than him.
“However, bringing de Jong in and putting him straight into the side and being trusted would be good for both Manchester United and him.”
Elsewhere, Paul Parker has suggested that Marcus Rashford is “holding back” Mason Greenwood:
“He’s (Rashford) holding back Mason Greenwood,” Parker said.
“I think Greenwood needs a run in that team. He’s a young boy, and there are stories about him leaving. That might be drummed up by his agent.
“I still believe that when you have good young players, they need to play. Because otherwise they will lose their confidence.
“They will look at what they have been doing. They will be looking at what people are doing in front of them and ask themselves questions. When they start doing that, it’s negative and they’ll end up going backwards.
“You have to be careful of that with Greenwood. He needs not just to be coming on, he needs to start games and he needs someone to believe in him and play him regularly until the manager can see a bit of fatigue.”
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