Frenkie de Jong has reiterated his desire to stay at Barcelona but Arsenal should be more optimistic than Manchester United about changing his mind.
Reports in Spain claim Barca no longer consider the 24-year-old an indispensable member of the squad and are willing to listen to offers in the region of £60million. United, who are on the lookout for a new midfielder, expressed their interest in the playmaker as Erik ten Hag is keen to reunite with the former Ajax man.
But the Dutchman insists he is happy at the Nou Camp and a move to Old Trafford does not appeal to him. He said: "I prefer to stay in Barcelona, I've said it before. Barca is the club of my dreams since I was little.
"If other clubs call, I will take the call, of course; It is something that is always done I don't want to talk about rumours anymore. I feel good at Barcelona."
De Jong admits he is well aware of United's interest but refused to admit if he has been in contact with Ten Hag.
He added: "Of course, I hear about the links to Manchester United, but the people in charge of Barca didn't tell me anything. So then I will assume that there is no agreement, nothing to worry about.
Asked if he has held talks with Ten Hag, he replied: "I won't tell you this. I wouldn't tell you this if it was about another manager or club too."
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One of De Jong's idols is Marc Overmars who joined Arsenal from Ajax in 1997 before sealing a move to Barcelona in 2000 after spending three impressive years in north London.
The Ajax-Arsenal-Barcelona route was something De Jong was potentially looking to replicate when he was still playing at the Amsterdam Arena before he ended up skipping the middle step as the Spanish giants came calling.
De Jong was a big fan of watching Arsenal growing up and hailed their "pretty beautiful past." Speaking to Voetbal International back in 2019, he said: "I actually thought Arsenal was pretty beautiful in the past.
"In my mind, I have had the following list for a long time: Ajax-Arsenal-Barcelona, call it the Marc Overmars route. But yes, if you can go directly to Barcelona, then you are also right where you want to be. Faster than you ever dared to dream."
