Richard Arnold has said ‘money is not a consideration’ in Manchester United‘s pursuit of Frenkie de Jong as he took aim at Ed Woodward’s handling of transfers.
United have identified the Holland midfielder as their No 1 target for the summer as new manager Erik ten Hag rebuilds the club and negotiations with Barcelona are in progress.
And in a sensational exchange with a group of United supporters in a Cheshire pub, the chief executive suggested Ten Hag will be handed a substantial budget to kick-start his project at Old Trafford.
Having criticised his predecessor Woodward and the way United had ‘burned through cash’ during disastrous forays into the market in recent years, Arnold hinted he would leave transfers and recruitment to others in the hierarchy rather than replicate his predecessor’s hands-on approach.
Manchester United chief executive Richard Arnold met with supporters in a Cheshire pub, where he was critical of predecessor Ed Woodward and the wastage on poor signings
Arnold said United were trying to close a deal for Barcelona and Holland star Frenkie de Jong
On De Jong, who Barcelona value at £69million, Arnold told the fans: ‘Money is not a consideration in who we want.
‘It’s that the manager wants him, that they’ve actually done the work on looking if he’s a great player.
‘Is it £100 million or £200million? I don’t know. Get who you f***ing want.
‘Do you want me buying the players? Doesn’t that ring a bell?’
According to the Twitter of one of the fans who spoke to Arnold, the United chief also said: ‘United officials are in Barcelona getting the deal done for De Jong.
‘As a club we’re doing everything possible to get the deal done, I’ve been up for days trying to get it done. The money is there but there’s things standing in our way which I can’t say.’
New manager Erik ten Hag has identified ex-Ajax man De Jong as his No 1 summer target
Arnold (right) took over as United’s chief executive after Ed Woodward’s departure in February and was critical of his predecessor’s approach during the secretly-filmed chat with fans
A spokesperson for Manchester United said: ‘Richard heard that…