Frenkie de Jong | The last muppeting lap

[ShamrockD]

The positive thing of the latest news is that if Chelsea agree a deal with Barcelona we will have a clear picture of what was going on all this time.

a) FDJ stays in Barcelona with the current contract --> The deferred wages scenario was the most likely obstacle and the player would probably move somewhere if he received the deferred amount.
b) FDJ stays in Barcelona with a wage cut --> The player intended to go nowhere and his ambition is questionable since he is willing to risk his career and his prime years when he is not a guaranteed starter and the play him out of his best position.
c) FDJ ends up in Manchester United --> He wanted to be here and indeed something (deferred wages) was apparently delaying the transfer. No one can say that he was forced to come here and we will have a new Di Maria, if he rejected Chelsea in the meantime.
d) FDJ ends up in Chelsea --> Apart from the obvious meltdown, questions need to be raised to all of the participants of this fiasco (even to ETH) since this means that we never had reassurances from the player's side, or they were dragging us along.

Questions need to be raised for (b) as well since we lost so much time, but compared to (d) scenario it is nothing.

 

[sewey89]

Orny's Caf account is actually @sewey89 and he's trying to extend the thread to catch the top 3 #exposed

 

[NoLogo]

Good point. It’s a sign of the times. Fans nowadays seem to worry more about saving face than anything. I don’t get it

I don't think that's the problem. People, and that includes players, in the business talk about other clubs and if we repeatedly look like amateurs, who can't get shite done it will factor into the choice for a player if we come knocking. So yes, I think being efficient and getting shite done is important part of the image of a club, not just towards the fans.

 

[Plant0x84]

Holy cow. Just waded through 20 pages of epic meltdown on the words of one man. Good game Negcafe! Even our master muppet has fallen.

At least we’ve bumped the thread and look on course for a new record total. Silver lining.

 

[hellhunter]

I'll never allow that

 

[joedirt87]

Dawson/Lockhurst to continue reporting that United are confident a deal can be done for Frenkie after he's officially signed for chelsea.

 

[Mickeza]

How many weeks wages do we need to fine Ronaldo in order to pay the deferred wages owed to FDJ?

 

[glazed]

It's perfectly possible that the Chelsea thing is a means of pressuring us to pay more. We either sign him or we don't and the rest is just background noise. But we still need a new DM of some kind.

 

[TheReligion]

Dawson/Lockhurst to continue reporting that United are confident a deal can be done for Frenkie after he's officially signed for chelsea.

 

[redcucumber]

no, no it won't

It will be, to be honest. We've been in extremely public negotiations with De Jong and Barca since ten Hag came in. He is obviously our number one target under the new regime and we've thrown all of our proverbial eggs into that basket. I don't particularly give a shit but it is what it is.

 

[buchansleftleg]

Footage of Man united Boardroom leaks as news of Chelsea interest in FDJ is tweeted

 

[TheReligion]

It's perfectly possible that the Chelsea thing is a means of pressuring us to pay more. We either sign him or we don't and the rest is just background noise. But we still need a new DM of some kind.

I think it suits De Jong and his agent too given they can then get top money

 

[Tony247]

Lets be clear
1. We are not chasing FdJ all summer
2. We have been proactive in coming to an agreement with Barca and it is highly unlikely we did it without talking to FdJ. However it is also clear that personal terms with Frenkie was always pending due to nature of complexities
3. This is as quick reaction as you can get from a club
4. After this United is practically out of picture and just waiting. It is only us fans and journos keeping the iron hot for our own sake
5. ETH long time back clarified if he doesn't get Frenkie then he will train one within the team. It also means united are perfectly aware that there is a probability of FdJ not signing with us. It is not as if ETH falling flat on his face. He has other plans in place.
6. It is normal to have multiple clubs bid for same players. Some players you get some you don't as there are various factors affecting the deal that are beyond club's control. AND THAT IS OKAY.

 

[VP89]

Ten hag has been here for many months also.

We did not allow rangnick to buy in the transfer window because he was an interim and now we haven't done shit with a permanent manager.

Im still seething we didn't put in a bid for alvarez when his agent had first offered him to us before flying all over europe for prospective clubs.

Ten Hag hasn't played a single competitive game give your head a wobble

 

[mancan92]

Which is a fair distance.

Its not far in the context of how big London is. London is a very big city. 30-40 minutes just within London is not a great distance.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Rob Dawson bringing some hope back

Put it this way, to go this far into the window and spend this much time on it, Erik Ten Hag would have to be stark raving bonkers not to have cast iron assurances that we’re his club of choice should he leave.

 

[TheReligion]

Lets be clear
1. We are not chasing FdJ all summer
2. We have been proactive in coming to an agreement with Barca and it is highly unlikely we did it without talking to FdJ. However it is also clear that personal terms with Frenkie was always pending due to nature of complexities
3. This is as quick reaction as you can get from a club
4. After this United is practically out of picture and just waiting. It is only us fans and journos keeping the iron hot for our own sake
5. ETH long time back clarified if he doesn't get Frenkie then he will train one within the team. It also means united are perfectly aware that there is a probability of FdJ not signing with us. It is not as if ETH falling flat on his face. He has other plans in place.
6. It is normal to have multiple clubs bid for same players. Some players you get some you don't as there are various factors affecting the deal that are beyond club's control. AND THAT IS OKAY.

A poster with sense

 

[joedirt87]

I have been confident this whole time that Frenkie would leave, but with the Chelsea news finally being picked up by the English journalists can't say I am confident anymore about it being to United. Let's hope our bald one can pull it out somehow.

 

[sewey89]

How many weeks wages do we need to fine Ronaldo in order to pay the deferred wages owed to FDJ?

About 3

 

[hellhunter]

Its not far in the context of how big London is. London is a very big city. 30-40 minutes just within London is not a great distance.

Cobham to Chelsea is 45 minutes this exact moment, while central London is pretty exactly one hour. And it's not quite rush hour, is it?

 

[TheReligion]

Put it this way, to go this far into the window and spend this much time on it, Erik Ten Hag would have to be stark raving bonkers not to have cast iron assurances that we’re his club of choice should he leave.

Yeah I agree. The man is meticulous so let’s see what happens before throwing shade on him and the club.

 

[Idxomer]

Rob Dawson isn't very reliable.

 

[Mickeza]

Rob Dawson isn't very reliable.

He also has no mention of Chelsea in his article. He’s just regurgitating the old information.

 

[Quagmire Maguire]

Where do you like if London and Manchester aren't up to scratch?

I live in a quiet village in Kent, however my ideal location to live when I retire is in the Scottish Highlands in the middle of nowhere surrounded by beautiful mountains, amazing roads and stunning lochs.

 

[FatTails]

All seater stadiums are boring. Barca should sell the seats and buy a Ter Stegen replacement I think. Super healthy financial planning.

 

[bond19821982]

If he wants to go to Chelsea and Chelsea wants to spend another 80m , then be it. Pretty sure, FDJ would have let ETH know about this by now. If that's the case, we should be moving on to another target soon. Still think there is a reason why we are sticking to it.

 

[Tony247]

If he wants to go to Chelsea and Chelsea wants to spend another 80m , then be it. Pretty sure, FDJ would have let ETH know about this by now. If that's the case, we should be moving on to another target soon. Still think there is a reason why we are sticking to it.

There was no another target.

 

[Sunny Jim]

Rob Dawson isn't very reliable.

He also didnt say anything we dont know already

 

[Chief123]

Put it this way, to go this far into the window and spend this much time on it, Erik Ten Hag would have to be stark raving bonkers not to have cast iron assurances that we’re his club of choice should he leave.

You would think so. But what doesn’t add up, is if we have been assured we are his club of choice and Barca has agreed a deal with Utd, then Chelsea coming in to negotiate would make no sense when all the boxes have already been ticked with another club.

Chelsea would know full well how far along Utd are with this deal. After the embarsssment they’ve already had this summer, they wouldn’t have got involved with this one unless they’ve had some kind of encouragement whether it’s from FDJ or his agent that a deal is possible.

I’m not sure the assurances from FDJ were as strong as we’ve been led to believe.

 

[FriedClams]

I don’t think FDJ would have indicated anything to anyone about where he wants to go. Wouldn’t that be a breach of the loyalty part of his contract and he would miss out on the $ he is owed?

 

[hellhunter]

You would think so. But what doesn’t add up, is if we have been assured we are his club of choice and Barca has agreed a deal with sure, then Chelsea coming in to negotiate would make no sense.

Chelsea would know full well how far along Utd are with this deal. After the embarsssment they’ve already had this summer, they wouldn’t have got involved with this one unless they’ve had some kind of encouragement whether it’s from FDJ or his agent that a deal is possible.

I’m not sure the assurances from FDJ were as strong as we’ve been led to believe.

Yeah solid point. Either Chelsea are simply punting at this moment, hoping for the best although FDJ is set on staying or joining United or FDJ was stringing ETH along as a backup in case he needs to leave Barca and no CL club shows interest

 

[redcucumber]

I live in a quiet village in Kent, however my ideal location to live when I retire is in the Scottish Highlands in the middle of nowhere surrounded by beautiful mountains, amazing roads and stunning lochs.

Posho! I agree re. Scottish Highlands. Not sure I could live there but great to be close to.

 

[Brownie85]

You would think so. But what doesn’t add up, is if we have been assured we are his club of choice and Barca has agreed a deal with sure, then Chelsea coming in to negotiate would make no sense.

Chelsea would know full well how far along Utd are with this deal. After the embarsssment they’ve already had this summer, they wouldn’t have got involved with this one unless they’ve had some kind of encouragement whether it’s from FDJ or his agent that a deal is possible.

I’m not sure the assurances from FDJ were as strong as we’ve been led to believe.

Why would it make no sense?

United are waiting for stuff to be agreed between Barca and de Jong. Absolutely nothing stopping Chelsea making a bid, doesn't mean that de Jong has to go there? Nothing stopping them trying their luck and seeing if they can change his mind. It happens. If Chelsea are feeling optimistic, they can go for him, whether he chooses them is a different matter.

We have no idea whats going on, we have no idea where all this info is coming from. Seems like it's only the Athletic thats reporting on the Chelsea stuff, everyone else either has no idea or doesn't find it reliable? I just do not know.

 

[BuzzKillington]

Other clubs seems to be rebuilding overnight, look at barcelona and spurs. Lets face facts, the glazers ambition is top 4 only and they couldn't give a flying feck about winning any silverware. Our spending is in line with glazers ambition.

Building a title winning team will not happen overnight or over a decade with glazers at the helm.

I think your confusing rebuilding with throwing money at something and hoping it works. There’s absolute no guarantee barcas splurge will be any more successful than any of their previous splurges.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

I’m not sure the assurances from FDJ were as strong as we’ve been led to believe.

In which case our new manager is stark raving bonkers.

I think Chelsea‘s embarrassment might be the reason they do try to get involved, they are also likely getting desperate for reinforcements. And because of some of the noise and the loooong delay, maybe they think it’s worth trying their own to see if the wages are the issue or if a move to London could tempt him.

Or, they say “sell us Ronaldo and we’ll drop our interest”. Or, Barca want a couple of Chelsea players and Barca are feeling out the idea of using that to get the de Jong.

Chelsea being interested in a good player makes total sense.

 

[VP89]

You would think so. But what doesn’t add up, is if we have been assured we are his club of choice and Barca has agreed a deal with Utd, then Chelsea coming in to negotiate would make no sense when all the boxes have already been ticked with another club.

Chelsea would know full well how far along Utd are with this deal. After the embarsssment they’ve already had this summer, they wouldn’t have got involved with this one unless they’ve had some kind of encouragement whether it’s from FDJ or his agent that a deal is possible.

I’m not sure the assurances from FDJ were as strong as we’ve been led to believe.

Chelseas approach is just scattergun, as is ours.

Both are just working off the manager requirements as we sacked off our scouts and Chelsea got rid of Cech and Marina.

 

[Smores]

You would think so. But what doesn’t add up, is if we have been assured we are his club of choice and Barca has agreed a deal with Utd, then Chelsea coming in to negotiate would make no sense when all the boxes have already been ticked with another club.

Chelsea would know full well how far along Utd are with this deal. After the embarsssment they’ve already had this summer, they wouldn’t have got involved with this one unless they’ve had some kind of encouragement whether it’s from FDJ or his agent that a deal is possible.

I’m not sure the assurances from FDJ were as strong as we’ve been led to believe.

Of course they weren't it's madness to actually think a player gives cast iron assurances to one club.

His agent will be out making sure he gets the best salary and options are open. I can't believe people actually thought Frenkie would be picking up the phone to tell ETH he only had eyes for us.

The man is (rightly) holding out for some compensation from Barca. He isn't going to then enter salary negotiations worth far more by declaring we're the only option, how fecking dumb would that be.

 

[Brownie85]

In which case our new manager is stark raving bonkers.

And lets be honest, if he has no assurances and has had the board persue de Jong the whole summer for no reason, they're not going to be happy at all. Which is why i don't think it's likely he'd do that.

 

[devilish]

Dawson/Lockhurst to continue reporting that United are confident a deal can be done for Frenkie after he's officially signed for chelsea.

I think that Murtough and Fletcher would be confident of such deal as well

 

[Chief123]

Yeah solid point. Either Chelsea are simply punting at this moment, hoping for the best although FDJ is set on staying or joining United or FDJ was stringing ETH along as a backup in case he needs to leave Barca and no CL club shows interest

I also think Utd’s reluctance to put any kind of deadline on this deal was in the belief that no one else would come in for him at that price point. It could quite well have backfired.