However, the Blues won’t match Manchester United’s offer, therefore Frenkie de Jong will only agree to leave Barcelona and join Chelsea
According to rumours, Frenkie de Jong will only agree to leave Barcelona this summer in order to sign with Chelsea. However, the Blues are reportedly reluctant to match Manchester United’s bid for the midfielder.
De Jong spoke with the club’s management earlier this week while on a preseason tour of America with Barcelona’s first team.
Although De Jong’s future is still uncertain, Barcelona president Joan Laporta and Nou Camp manager Xavi had anticipated the problem would be settled following the talks.
De Jong joined Barcelona from Ajax in 2019 and has since made 140 appearances for the club. He is eager to stay at his dream team and contribute significantly to Xavi’s plan to rebuild the team.
Barcelona, though, sees De Jong as the ideal player to trade because his exit might bring almost 80 million euros as they struggle mightily financially.
The fact that Barcelona still owes De Jong almost 17 million euros in deferred payments and will want him to accept a pay cut if he does wind up remaining complicates the situation further.
Sport in Spain reports that De Jong is “hurt” and “bewildered” by the developments, especially given that Barcelona is still making significant summer additions.
De Jong allegedly only wants to join Chelsea if he must leave Barcelona because he still has second thoughts about moving to Manchester United.
De Jong worked for the incoming United manager Erik ten Hag at Ajax, which was one of the reasons United was rumored to be in the lead in the pursuit of his services.
De Jong reportedly still has reservations about the Red Devils, though, and would fight for a transfer to Stamford Bridge if Barcelona exiled him.
Chelsea has expressed interest in De Jong, but they are now hesitant to match Barcelona’s asking price of 80 million euros.
The team may not be prepared for their Premier League debut the following weekend, despite Blues manager Thomas Tuchel pleading with the team to support him with additional new hires and alerting Todd Boehly of the possibility.