Erik ten Hag reunion could help Manchester United finally solve midfield problem

It appeared to be a match made in heaven but if it hasn't quite been hell it has certainly been purgatory. Frenkie de Jong has been trapped below the quality level he should be soaring to at Barcelona ever since he made the move.

A transfer has rarely made as much sense. A young midfielder raised and taught in the classic Dutch 'total football' philosophy, who had established himself as one of the finest young midfielders in Europe, especially revered for his excellent passing and tight control, taking the well-worn path from Ajax to Barcelona, trail that was first blazed by John Cruyff decades earlier and the links of which remains strong to this day.

Barcelone's identity is owed nearly entirely to Cruyff and the ideals he instilled at the Camp Nou, with the foundations of the La Masia academy to the way of life on the pitch. De Jong appeared to be the latest embodiment of that, the heir to Xavi's throne and the perfect player for the perfect team being signed from the perfect club. It couldn't fail, could it?

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Well, it kind of has. Not entirely for reasons under the midfielder or any other players' control, as Barcelona nearly unravelled completely in the two years since he joined the club in 2019 and are only now beginning to stitch themselves back together again, though not without the odd nick in the fabric.

Instead of heralding in a new era of liquid football in Catalonia, De Jong has had to suffer with the rest of the team as Barca's financial mismanagement cost them dearly. It cost them their icon and the greatest player of all time, and saw them forced into giving away players they had spent tens if not hundreds of