I do trust the manager. He obviously knows whats going on and he's sure that de Jong is coming.
If he wasn't sure, i truly don't think that he'd stick around. It's just pointless for both clubs. The wage issue is holding things up but if Barca truly wanted to sort things and keep him, i'm sure they'd have figured something by now and cancelled the agreement?
The second part of what you've said is what is convincing me that there
must be something in this. I can't imagine us sticking with this for so long based on nothing, but I also simultaneously am sceptical with Barcelona, who just seem dodgier and dodgier the more this goes on. They're very quick to buy new players but don't seem to be quick with moving de Jong on. You'd think that they'd be desperate for that transfer fee and even if you subtract the money they owe de Jong from that transfer valuation, they've got money there right on the table that they seemingly aren't in a rush for. I'm convinced that they think they can get de Jong to agree to a huge wage drop, and that's why the deal has stopped.
Will Fred dissolve when he hits 30?
Haha, no, but it surprised me as I swore he was at least 3 or 4 years younger than that. Matic is 33 and his have legs have fallen off for some time, and I'm aware of the stereotype of players slowing down/age catching up with them once they get to a certain point. Not saying that Fred is going to have a bad season by any means or will turn to shit as he blows out his 30th birthday candles, but it does highlight that we need to have some sort of plan with what's going on with our central midfield area for the long-term.