midfielder Frenkie de Jong has been advised to reject ’s advances by hero Steve McManaman.
The Red Devils have been since .
Ten Hag, 52, worked with De Jong at and is when he takes over at the end of the season.
De Jong has made 139 appearances for Barcelona over the past three years and McManaman believes he would be better off staying at the Nou Camp than joining United.
Both Manchester United and Barcelona have struggled in recent years, with the Red Devils going five successive seasons without a trophy and Barca finishing 12 points behind La Liga champions Real Madrid this term and .
‘Manchester United could potentially sign Frenkie de Jong as I don’t think he’s had the greatest time at Barcelona,’ former Liverpool and England star McManaman told .
‘I know that Barcelona have just got themselves back into the Champions League for next season and they are building something there, but he does have a relationship with Erik ten Hag, so maybe it’s a case of him not feeling the love in Barcelona.
‘Playing for Barcelona on the rise or Manchester United on the rise is a completely different thing when one’s playing in the Champions League and the other one isn’t.
‘For him to go to Manchester United then I think they’d have to pay him more than he’s earning at Barcelona, which I think will be a really hard thing to do considering that he went to Barcelona for a huge amount of money.
‘You’d rather stay at Barcelona in the Champions League with Xavi trying to change things around. Players like [Andreas] Christensen and [Robert] Lewandowski potentially coming in makes that a more exciting challenge in my opinion.’
Barcelona president and refused to rule out selling the midfielder, insisting he would always do ‘what is best for the club’.
Speaking on the Catalunya Radio station, Laporta said: ‘We will do what is best for the club. If the economic levers that we want to activate come off, no player will leave for economic reasons.
‘I insist. Let the sports management work. There are players who are quoted to have received offers. In the sports area, Xavi rules and he ends up deciding the club’s sports management. I will follow what the professionals of the club say.’
United’s arch-rivals , who helped Ajax win the Eredivisie and reach the Champions League semi-finals before his move to Barcelona.
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