Barcelona have made up their mind of selling one of their best midfielders Frenkie de Jong for a reported transfer fee of just £41.7 million. The Catalan giants are struggling to get their grip on the financial situation at Camp Nou recently and forced into selling high-earning players recently. Premier League giants Manchester United and Chelsea, and Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are showing strong interest in de Jong and will be delighted over his £41.7 million valuations by La Liga heavyweights.
The 24-year-old Dutch midfielder arrived at Camo Nou in January 2019 from Ajax for a reported fee of £77 million. He still has 4 years remaining on his current contract with the Catalan giants. But the versatile central midfielder is struggling for form and fitness lately and having a disastrous season which is one of the few reasons for a drop in his transfer valuation.
Since the arrival of the manager and former legend Xavi two months ago, de Jong has been struggling to keep his place in the starting eleven regularly. Highly-rated Spanish youngsters Pedri, Gavi, Nico Gonzalez, and Riqui Puig have been regular in the first-team midfield now and the likes of Sergio Busquets and de Jong finding it tough to consistently perform. De Jong has scored just once and assisted 2 goals in overall 23 matches this season and needs a fresh challenge to revive his downgrading career.
Barcelona are struggling big this season with their latest stain being Supercopa de Espana semi-final 2-3 home defeat against arch-rivals Real Madrid. Xavi’d side sit in 6th position in the La Liga table with just 32 points from the opening 20 matches, 17 points behind leaders Real Madrid and 2 points behind 3rd placed Real Betis. Finishing in the top four will be a good achievement for Barcelona to hold on to their key players in the summer.
Chelsea And Manchester United Told To Pay Just £41.7 Million For De Jong:
According to a report from El Nacional, Barcelona are willing to sell Frenkie de Jong for just £41.7 million after reported interest from Chelsea last week. Last week, the same publication reported Chelsea’s £33 million bid was rejected by Barcelona, who are now asking just £7 million more for the signature of a player who cost them more than twice of the Blue’s offer.
Chelsea boost Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, and N’Golo Kante in their strong midfield, but the latter two players have crossed 30 of age, and manager Thomas Tuchel is looking at long-term option at the centre of midfield. Kai Havertz and Mason Mount are operating in more advanced midfield roles in midfield despite being natural central midfielders. De Jong will be a perfect signing for Tuchel who has established a 3-4-3 formation at Stamford Bridge. De Jong is equally capable of playing in an advanced midfield role and deep-lying role, similar to N’Golo Kante.
Chelsea told to increase Frenkie De Jong transfer offer to £50m by Barcelona to land midfield target this month https://t.co/J6DLWJPdeN
— The Sun – Chelsea (@SunChelsea) January 16, 2022
Manchester United were strongly linked with de Jong in 2018 but the player chose Barcelona over them. But now due to his availability for such a lower transfer fee, Red Devils have revived their interest and looking to bid for him this month.