Rafael van der Vaart has urged Frenkie de Jong to join , with the midfielder told a move to Old Trafford would be ‘ideal’.
Erik ten Hag is hoping to convince his former star to leave the Camp Nou this summer, having offered him a key role in his United side going forward.
De Jong’s first preference was to remain at Barcelona, where he has two years left on his contract.
But the Catalan giants are under pressure to raise funds this summer with Marca describing United’s offer of €60million plus €20million in add-ons as ‘too important not to accept’.
While de Jong has reservations over United’s lack of Champions League football next season, former Real Madrid and Tottenham star van der Vaart believes United is the right fit for him, insisting the midfielder will be ‘the only one of his kind’ at Old Trafford.
‘That is of course the most ideal. Then you have a trainer who knows exactly what you can and cannot do,’ Van der Vaart told , referring to ten Hag. ‘And United still need a little quality.’
‘There are players who can do the same and maybe be better than you or have performed more.
‘As long as those other players are there, he is out of place at Barcelona. At United he could play more like with the Dutch national team. Then he’s the only one of his kind.’
Reports in Spain have claimed de Jong’s agent is set to travel to Spain in the next 48 hours in order to discuss the midfielder’s future at the club.
Ten Hag has made strengthening United’s midfield a priority this summer following the departures of Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba.
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