Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong is believed to be more interested in a move to Manchester United than Chelsea, after the Blues entered the race to sign him.
Chelsea new owner Todd Boehly has reportedly traveled to Barcelona to discuss possible transfer deals with the Spanish giants.
Barcelona have already signed one player from Stamford Bridge this summer in the form of Andreas Christensen on a free transfer after his contract with Chelsea expired. They have also shown interest in signing Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso.
However, the arrival of Todd Boehly in Spain may bring positive results as Barcelona director Mateu Alemany, consultant Jordi Cruyff, and president Joan Laporta were all present at a meeting with the American billionaire.
The Blues are reportedly set to hijack Manchester United’s top transfer target Frenkie de Jong but the Dutchman has made it known that he wants to join Manchester United if a deal is accepted this summer.
The top midfielder is expected to reunite with his former manager Erik Ten Hag who’s now the current Man United head coach. Erik Ten Hag coached Frenkie de Jong while he was playing for Ajax and they had a very good relationship.
The Red Devils are seriously pushing to secure the services of Frenkie de Jong and have reportedly agreed to a fee of around £70million for the midfielder but talks have since slowed down as Barcelona wants more than that.
🚨🚨| Frenkie De Jong is very reluctant to join Chelsea & now his priority is Manchester United. @sport
— Managing Barça (@ManagingBarca) July 7, 2022
The Spanish club are also owing Frenkie de Jong £17 million due to the financial crisis they had during the coronavirus pandemic. Even though, the midfielder wants a move to Manchester United than Chelsea, it’s not clear if their offers are better than what he’s already getting at Barcelona.
He had once revealed that he wants to continue playing for Barcelona and the club president Joan Laporta also confirmed the statement during an interview, but a move to Man United will be accepted.
Chelsea are yet to make a signing this summer and they may face another blow as their pursuit for Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt looks set to end in failure. The defender has been a top target for Chelsea but he is more likely to join Bayern Munich this summer.
Chelsea are desperately in need of new defenders after the departure of Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid and Christensen to Barcelona. Both Azpilicueta and Alonso are also expected to leave.
However, they are close to signing Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling as a personal deal has been reportedly agreed. Sterling is expected to join them on a £45 million deal and it will be completed soon.
