Ten Hag: Extending Nestsad's Contract Was No Coincidence, He Wants to Succeed With Us

According to Diario Sport, Barcelona closely followed Twente's 18-year-old centre-back Nestsad this summer and made an offer of around €8 million, but Twente rejected it. Twente technical director Erik ten Hag said that although several major clubs were interested in the player, Nestsad himself wanted to remain with the club.

In the recently concluded summer transfer window, Barcelona had been closely monitoring Nestsad. The 18-year-old centre-back is regarded as one of the most promising players in Dutch football. However, Twente ultimately rejected the possibility of the player leaving, and he will remain in Enschede this season.

Speaking in an interview with RTV Oost, Ten Hag said that although several major clubs had shown strong interest in Nestsad, the player had not shown any desire to leave Twente.

Ten Hag said: "It is no secret that many very big clubs are interested in Ruud."

However, the former Manchester United manager denied that Nestsad had attempted to push for a transfer.

Ten Hag said: "He wants to stay here. The fact that we renewed his contract was no coincidence. He wants to continue his own path here, at least for this season. He wants to achieve success with us, and then we will see what happens afterwards."

In June this year, Nestsad renewed his contract with Twente, with the new deal running until 2029. Through this renewal, Twente hopes to keep one of the most promising players developed through the club's youth system. This summer, Nestsad was frequently linked with Barcelona. Barcelona made an offer of around €8 million, but Twente rejected the deal because the club's asking price was higher.

Ten Hag's stance has remained firm throughout, and he made it clear from the beginning that Twente had no intention of letting Nestsad leave. The club's plan is for the young centre-back to continue developing with the first team this season before reassessing his future. Therefore, if Barcelona wants to try again to sign this highly promising young Dutch centre-back in the future, it will need to wait. Diario Sport believes January next year could become a new opportunity.