The stats that show why Manchester United are targeting Frenkie De Jong

Erik Ten Hag's top target as new Manchester United manager appears to be his ex-Ajax player, Frenkie De Jong.

As always seems to be the case, nobody is uncertain of Manchester United’s top target this summer. They’ve needed a midfielder to build the play from deep for some time but in recent summers they have become distracted by other opportunities, such as the chance to bring Cristiano Ronaldo back to the club before last season began. 

This time around, their sights are set on Frenkie De Jong. The Barcelona man played under Manchester United’s new manager, Erik Ten Hag, at Ajax and starred alongside Lasse Schone in a midfield two, with Donny Van De Beek in front of them. 

It seems the Dutch manager wants to work with his compatriot again and fix the problems with the Red Devils’ build-up play which means they can struggle so much when facing pressing teams, as well as teams which sit in a block against them. 

Here are the stats which show why the club are taking such an interest in the player: 

Attacking Output

Whilst the role is usually spoken about in the term ‘defensive midfielder’, De Jong is not a defensive screener and that’s not really what Manchester United need. Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba have left the club, leaving Fred and Scott McTominay as midfield options but both are capable in their defensive work, so they could rotate in partnering De Jong. 

The Dutchman would add some more attacking threat from deeper positions as last season he averaged 0.11 goals per 90, from an expected goals of 0.17. That ranked him in the 75th and 93rd percentiles for midfielders, respectively. Adding goals to a team will always be beneficial and in signing De Jong, United should certainly do that. 

Additionally to scoring, the former Ajax man is a reliable creator from deep positions. In fact, his 0.13 assists per 90 in 21/22 put him in the 76th percentile for the metric, whilst he could have ranked higher, had his teammates been a little more clinical as his expected assists of 0.15 was enough to put him in the 87th percentile. 

Building the play

Most importantly, De Jong is a player Ten Hag could centre his build-up play around. Having spent his professional career at both Ajax and Barcelona, the 25-year-old is incredibly comfortable on the ball and will always make himself an option to receive it, even when under pressure. 

This has been an issue with Fred and McTominay, as neither are particularly comfortable receiving in pressured situations and thus have been accused of ‘hiding’ from the ball. This is shown by the fact that McTominay averages only 47.49 passes per 90, with Fred a little more impressive at 58.16. De Jong betters both with 61.9. 

More than that though, the Barcelona midfielder uses the ball much more progressively. He made 5.24 progressive passes (those that move the ball at least 10m closer to the opponent’s goal) per 90, compared to McTominay’s 3.72 and Fred’s 4.47. That’s all whilst ranking in the 92nd percentile for pass accuracy with 90.1%, with McTominay completing only 85.4% of his passes and Fred making only 85.1% of his. 

As well as his progressive passing, De Jong is also comfortable moving the ball forwards with carries, as he ranks in the 94th percentile for progressive carries with 7.08 per 90. Neither of Fred or McTominay come anywhere close to that figure, demonstrating how the Dutchman could vastly improve Manchester United’s ball progression through his double threat of being able to confidently pass and carry forwards. 

He will need a partner

As mentioned earlier, De Jong will likely play alongside one of Fred or McTominay, unless Ten Hag decides he wants another midfield signing. The former Ajax man is not an active defender, and this is borne out in the volume of his defensive actions. 

De Jong ranked in the 3rd, 8th and 10th percentiles for pressures, tackles and interceptions, respectively. There is the context that Barcelona were the second most dominant side in Europe according to possession, but the Dutchman was not particularly proactive in winning the ball back. 

Of the two current midfielders at Old Trafford, Fred might be the best partner for De Jong, given that he averaged 24.66 pressures per 90, enough to rank him in the 92nd percentile for midfielders, as well as ranking in the 83rd and 66th percentiles for tackles and interceptions. 

With Fred alongside De Jong, Ten Hag would have an aggressive ball-winner alongside a genuine playmaker, providing the kind of balance he may well be looking for and giving his Manchester United rebuild a base to build from.