Erik ten Hag nears agreement with new club and DEMANDS De Jong transfer

Erik ten Hag is close to agreeing to join Borussia Dortmund as head coach and he wants a familiar face in the familiar form of Frenkie de Jong to join him in the Bundesliga.

According to El Nacional, the talks between the 54-year-old coach and Dortmund are at an advanced stage.

Ten Hag, however, has made one remarkable transfer demand: Dortmund must sign De Jong from Barcelona as soon as possible.

Ten Hag to replace Sahin at Dortmund

Nuri Sahin’s position as Dortmund coach is becoming increasingly untenable.

BVB are winless in seven games and in midweek suffered an embarrassing 4-2 loss at Holstein Kiel. While Kicker and BILD report that Sahin can stay for the time being, Dortmund fans are done with the former Liverpool star.

According to El Nacional, Dortmund are already preparing for Sahin’s sacking, with the club a lowly ninth in the standings.

Ten Hag, who was previously an assistant at Bayern Munich, has previously been spotted watching on from the stands as Dortmund lost 3-2 to Bayer Leverkusen and the Dutchman is said to have been in talks for a long time about a job at the Signal Iduna Park.

If BVB are to strike a deal with the former Manchester United manager, though, they will have to agree to one ‘clear request’ from the coach. Ten Hag has set his sights on the arrival of De Jong, who has been sidelined by Barcelona. The 27-year-old midfielder is no longer an undisputed regular under Hansi Flick and will be encouraged to leave.

De Jong and Ten Hag previously worked together at Ajax, where the Dutch international was an important link in the midfield of the coach’s highly successful side before leaving to join Barcelona in a deal worth €86 million.

Ten Hag tried relentlessly to sign De Jong during his time at Man Utd but was unable to complete a deal despite trying tigerishly to bring the Netherlands star to Old Trafford.

A transfer may become possible during the January transfer window, with Barcelona looking to sell the midfielder for around €45m.