Manchester United are reportedly still hopeful of pulling off a double swoop for Frenkie de Jong and Jude Bellingham in the summer of 2023.
The Red Devils added Casemiro and Christian Eriksen to their midfield ranks this year, moving for the former after failing to prise De Jong away from Barcelona.
Man United were believed to have come to an agreement with La Blaugrana over a fee, but De Jong had no intention of leaving the club amid a dispute over deferred wages.
"I always wanted to stay at Barcelona and this is why I always remained calm in the summer," De Jong told reporters during the international break.
"I can't give too much details away. The club has its own ideas and I have my own ideas too. And sometimes this clashes with each other. But at the end of the day things went OK."
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Erik ten Hag has been tipped to try again for his former Ajax starlet in 2023, as De Jong has struggled to earn consistent starts for Barcelona in the current campaign.
According to ESPN, the Netherlands international is still on the radar of Red Devils chiefs, and Ten Hag is not fazed by his admission that he only wanted to remain at Barcelona.
The report adds that another pursuit of De Jong at the end of the season cannot be ruled out, and there is 'still a feeling' that the midfielder could end his stint at Camp Nou relatively soon.
Furthermore, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Bellingham is also understood to be one of Man United's leading transfer targets after they missed out on his signature in 2020.
The much-coveted teenager snubbed the Red Devils to join Dortmund, where he has already made 100 appearances in all competitions - scoring 13 goals and setting up 18 more.
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The England mainstay is expected to be at the centre of a large-scale bidding war next summer, with Man United, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Liverpool all battling to sign him.
Former Man United man Bryan Robson recently admitted that the Red Devils thought they had won the race for Bellingham two years ago, telling The Sun: "Unfortunately for us he decided to move to Germany.
"We thought we more or less had him. Myself, Sir Alex [Ferguson] and Eric Cantona all met him with his mum and dad at Carrington and after that meeting we thought he was coming to us.
"Now there is talk about him moving next summer and you see Liverpool mentioned a lot. We thought we had him and he would have been a great signing for us. But he definitely has it in him to become a great player for England."
However, Premier League clubs have apparently been dealt an early blow in the race for Bellingham, who is said to have his heart set on a move to Real Madrid at the end of the season.
Ben Knapton
