De Jong is at the center of the transfer dispute between Manchester United and Chelsea. Erik ten Hag wants to take the central midfielder to Old Trafford, but Chelsea are causing problems. The Blues’ interest was first reported on July 2. More recently, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has spoken about the 25-year-old’s possible departure. “Frenkie de Jong is a Barcelona player – we don’t want to sell him unless we have no other option,” the captain said. “Of course we know there are offers for De Jong. But we don’t want to sell him.” Despite Barca hoping to keep De Jong in Catalonia, there is a chance he could end up in the Premier League given how much Chelsea and United want him. Mundo Deportivo provide their take on the situation, as reported by Sport Witness. They claim Chelsea have yet to make an official move for De Jong, although they are “dreaming” of signing him before United. Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has reportedly held initial discussions with Barcelona officials about De Jong. And these discussions caught the player’s agents by surprise.
Frenkie de Jong is being chased by two English giants
United are happy to shell out an initial £55.6m for the Netherlands international, plus £17.1m in add-ons. Chelsea are less willing to pay such a fee. There have been rumors of a possible swap deal for Jorginho, which would keep the price down. Thomas Tuchel’s side believe they can take the initiative in their pursuit of De Jong by first capturing Matthijs de Ligt. De Ligt is a good friend of De Jong and could convince the playmaker to swap Catalonia for West London.
Why do Manchester United want Frankie de Jong?
Why do Manchester United want Frankie de Jong when the player seemingly doesn’t want to move to Old Trafford? The transfer saga surrounding De Jong is one of the biggest of the summer. Barca would love to see them all go, but that is unlikely to happen until the window officially closes. De Jong probably wants to get his future sorted as well, so he can start pre-season without a hitch. Meanwhile, Chelsea have agreed a deal with another Manchester City player amid the pending transfer of Raheem Sterling.
