Erik ten Hag reveals how we would have used Frenkie de Jong at Manchester United after fee was agreed

Erik ten Hag says Frenkie de Jong would have connected well with Casemiro in the Manchester United midfield, despite only moving to sign the Brazilian after a failed move for the Dutchman.

United reached a full agreement with Barcelona for the transfer of De Jong two years ago, but opted to look at other targets after protracted talks with the player, who was unsure about the move and still chasing wages he was owed by the Catalan club.

Ten Hag had made signing a holding midfielder the priority for his first summer at the club and United sources insisted that while De Jong was the top target, Casemiro was always considered a suitable alternative.

United were once again linked with a move to sign De Jong last summer and are already being touted as possible suitors should he look to leave Camp Nou at the end of the season.

It would have been fascinating to see how United's style of play would have differed had they signed De Jong instead of Casemiro, and when Ten Hag was asked why he hasn't implemented the same style of play at Old Trafford as he did at Ajax, he cited missing out on the Dutch midfielder as part of the reason.

“Because then you have to bring in (the right) players,” Ten Hag told Sky Sports. “You need the player with those typical assets, and you can’t bring a player, say, here who has a (different) typical style of play; I don’t want to change his nature.”

When pressed by interviewer Gary Neville more specifically on De Jong and whether he held the key to playing the Ajax way, he added: “Ah, that would have been Frenkie de Jong and Casemiro, they would have really been connected with each other,” Ten Hag admitted. “They would have been really complimentary with each other, absolutely. That is a typical player if you want to play the Ajax style – you need that type of player.”