Frenkie de Jong’s dream shirt number made available at Old Trafford as Manchester United engage in talks with Barcelona: Reports

Manchester United have made another move to express how desperately they want Frankie de Jong to join the club by making his dream shirt number available at Old Trafford. The club is actively pursuing the signing of the Dutch midfielder from Barcelona in the summer transfer window this year.

Frankie de Jong feels Number 21 has been lucky for him since he carried the same number from Ajax to Barcelona and the national team as well. At Old Trafford, Edinson Cavani accepted the 21 number jersey after giving his former number 7 jersey to Cristiano Ronaldo last season. With the Urugyayan international leaving this summer, the 21 number jersey remains unused.

The Premier League giants made an initial bid of £54 million-plus add-ons, only to get rejected by the Barcelona board.

However, the Red Devils were prepared to present another offer for the 25-year-old midfielder. Barcelona are unwilling to let go of the Dutch international but their precarious financial situation might force their hands.

Manchester United's new full-time manager Erik ten Hag has been a great admirer of De Jong since his wonderful stint at Ajax. Ten Hag is hopeful of getting reunited with his former player and building the Manchester United midfield around him. The Premier club had a terrible last season as their trophyless streak entered its sixth straight year and they also failed to make it to the Champions League places.

In a bid to overhaul the squad and improve flagging team spirits, the Red Devils decided to bring Erik ten Hag as their new head coach. The club has seen many players leave the club, including the likes of Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Nemanja Matic and Jessi Lingard.

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Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata writes emotional farewell message to his fans

Juan Mata has made public an emotional message addressing his fans while bidding farewell to Manchester United. The Spanish national joined the Red Devils in 2016 after spending three seasons with at Chelsea. The 34-year-old attacking midfielder has played 285 matches for the Red Devils, scoring 51 goals and assting 47. He won an FA Cup, a League Cup and a Europa League during his time at Old Trafford.

In his letter via the official Manchester United media, Mata wrote:

"It has taken me some time to process the change that is happening in my life. This is a message that, for many moments over the last years, I never thought I would be writing but, of course, all good things come to an end and my time as a Manchester United player has just finished.''

"It would be impossible for me to express in this text all the feelings that I have been experiencing over the last weeks but, to sum it up, I would like to say I am the proudest man in the world having represented this unique club for the last eight-and-a-half seasons.''

Mata said that playing for one of the 'best clubs' in the history of football was a distant dream for him as a kid. He added:

"It is something I would never have dreamt of, when I was little, as it felt too distant for a kid in Spain to, one day, play for one of the best clubs in the history of football but, sometimes, reality exceeds dreams.''