Chelsea Emerge Out As Winners With Agreement In Place For Frenkie de Jong, Toppling Manchester United’s £72 Million Deal
Aug 10, 2022 at 5:28 PM
Chelsea are reportedly set to land Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong after agreeing a deal with the Catalan club, according Spanish outlet SPORT. The Blues will topple fellow rivals Manchester United’s already agreed transfer for the midfielder in the process. United had already struck a £72 million package for the Dutch international, which included a £63 million fee and £9 million add-ons.
However, De Jong’s reluctance in joining United saw the deal agreed between the two clubs hit a roadblock. The midfielder wants to continue in the Champions League at his peak years, and is also owed £17 million in wages by Barcelona. Chelsea, however took the advantage of the situation and have brokered a deal for De Jong, who at last has accepted to move on.
Chelsea table higher bid than United for Frenkie de Jong
Barcelona are in dire need of cash to register their five new signings from the summer transfer market. The only way to achieve the registration is to clear out high earners, with Frenkie de Jong being the very first name. United, under the demand of new boss Erik ten Hag set out to acquire his former player from Ajax at all costs.
The Red Devils agreed to fork out a fee of £63 million to land Ten Hag’s priority target. However, Chelsea have outranked their offer by tabling a bid of almost £68 million, which has been accepted by Barcelona. The Londoners have been in talks with the Spanish giants since last week, after their owner Todd Boehly accelerated the efforts to hijack United’s deal.
While Frenkie de Jong is yet to green-light the move, he is finally expected to accept the Chelsea transfer with his current employers desperate to sell him. Barring his £17 million wages owed to him by Barcelona, Thomas Tuchel’s side does offer him the opportunity to feature in the Champions League which could now be a decisive aspect.
On the other hand, Barcelona did provide De Jong to remain at the club, however with a massive salary reduction. The player refused to accept the new norms and demanded his full payment of £17 million. Further on, things could get worse as the Catalans have found his contract extension which he signed during the previous president’s reign to be ‘illegal’.
The club is now pressurizing De Jong to take a pay-cut and sign a reformed contract or face legal action. And to avoid an of these, leave the club by accepting either of Chelsea or United’s proposal. While Barca manager Xavi and president Joan Laporta have admitted that they want De Jong to continue, both have asserted that the economic condition also needs to be taken into consideration.
The next few days, or even hours could decide De Jong’s future as Chelsea are pushing tirelessly to get this deal done. Todd Boehly, who is heading the club’s transfer business is reportedly ready to hold talks with the 25-year-old in order to convince him to join their project at Stamford Bridge.