Who is Frenkie de Jong - the Barca midfielder coveted by Manchester United?

Barcelona’s Dutch international midfielder Frenkie de Jong, 25, is being strongly linked with a move away from the club to Manchester United, who are trying to sign him. The two clubs have been in contact but are still not close to doing a deal.

What type of player will United be signing if they do? We spoke to three people who have watched him regularly since he joined the Catalans from Ajax in 2019.

"He’s one of the few beautiful players playing football. He’s got it all. But it’s funny what’s happened to him because most of the time when a big signing comes to Barcelona, after three touches they are immediately admired, as was the case with Suarez or Ronaldinho. Or they are put into that [Ousmane] Dembele bracket of 'you cost a lot of money but your touch isn’t perfect, you can’t control a ball'.

"With Frenkie de Jong, I think people in Camp Nou think he's a good or even great footballer but they’re a bit mystified as to why he hasn't been a huge success so far. I think that's down to the decay in the team, not down to him. But he does have something which is very much ‘him’: he likes to run with the ball which didn’t really fit in with how Barcelona were playing or did in the last few years. Maybe only Iniesta did that, but he was exceptional.

"So De Jong didn’t fit in with this ‘pass it, give it, pass it’ philosophy and none of the trainers we had knew how to teach him. He probably needed Ten Hag for that. He’s a beautiful footballer who has something in the way he turns when he receives the ball that is unique. Maybe De Bruyne is the nearest comparable player in the Premier League. I think De Bruyne has more physique, but that way of turning and running with the ball and not losing it is pretty unique in world