He didn’t and I just assumed he wants it from his tactics.
He sees De Jong as a roaming playmaker and not a deep lying playmaker. It allows him to be up and down the pitch and play at his own tempo and pretty much do his
Own thing, which makes him not exactly a sole CDM like a deep lying playmaker can be.
During his time as Ajax manager, Erik ten Hag spoke at length about maximising the impact of in-demand midfielder Frenkie de Jong, who could be about to follow his fellow Dutchman to Manchester United this summer.
Ten Hag is running the show at Old Trafford these days and his top priority is to strike a deal to sign De Jong from Barcelona, with the two clubs
close to finalising an agreement at around the €80m mark.
De Jong has endured a tricky few years at
Barcelona, with many questioning his best role in the team, but that's something that Ten Hag seems to be aware of.
"We have really been looking to find ways to use [De Jong's] skills in the best manner," Ten Hag told
Dutch Soccer Sitein 2019. "Where can he play best, for the team and to showcase his talent. Everyone was screaming:
Frenkie is the biggest talent, etc etc. Well yes. But, where? In midfield? Ok, but which role?
"His quality is that he makes the forwards perform better. He is a wanderer, an adventurer, he’s always on the move, like a shark. With the ball, often, but also without the ball. So if you put him on 6 [defensive midfield], he’s away too often. But you need to give him freedom, otherwise you can’t the best out of him.
"It wasn’t an easy puzzle, so I decided to play with two number 6s and only one attacking mid. And in this way, we can also dominate the half space, and force opponents to choose."
So basically he will utelise a partner with De Jong. I don’t think Fred and Mctominay are defensively good enough to be allowed to let De Jong roam in freedom. On the other side I believe Martinez was bought due to his ability to be versatile and play as a CDM to let De Jong roam as well as a left footed CB. I see Martinez as our stop gap CDM until he adapts to the CB position of the league and will probably go for one more CDM next season - aka the reason I feel we should go for that player now and come back for De Jong if the transfer is complex. Yet frenkie should be prioritized over anyone else as long as that chance is available.