According to Fabrizio Romano Chelsea have not put in a formal bid to try and hijack Manchester United‘s signing of Barcelona man Frenkie de Jong despite loving the player.
One of the biggest transfer sagas of this summer’s window has been the speculation of De Jong’s possible move from the Spanish giants to Old Trafford – which has been slowed as the player seems to want to stay in Catalonia, but the club are adamant on a sale.
However, another recent sticking point was thrown into the deal as it was reported by Relevo (via Mirror), that the Red Devils’ Premier League rivals, Chelsea, were interested in bringing in De Jong and it was even rumoured that the Dutch international favoured a move to the West London outfit.
Fortunately for United fans, Romano recently revealed that there has been no formal bid from the Blues, but despite accepting a big from United, De Jong still wants to stay with Barca.
Romano said: “The interest of Chelsea in Frankie de Jong – Thomas Tuchel, Todd Boehly – they love Frankie de Jong. But let me say, who doesn’t love Frankie de Jong in European football? A fantastic player, so it’s absolutely normal but at the moment there are no bid, guys, from Chelsea.
“They know Chelsea, as Man United know too of course, that Frankie de Jong as of today wants to continue at Barcelona.”
TIF Thoughts on Romano’s comments…
Despite having signed the likes of Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez, De Jong is still the great white whale for Erik ten Hag’s squad this summer. But despite having a bid accepted the deal still looks far away.
However, competing with a team like Chelsea could cause a big issue for United as their new owner Todd Boehly may be looking to splash the cash in the transfer market during his first stint at the club to impress fans. As mentioned above as well, De Jong could favour a move to Chelsea due to his disdain at the way United is run as a club, which will likely not change anytime soon under the Glazer family.
The 25-year-old impressed last season after ranking in the 95th percentile for progressive passes received, 94th for progressive carries per game, 92nd for pass completion, and 91st for touches in the attacking penalty area (according to Fbref).
Both Ten Hag and the fans will be desperate to get a deal for De Jong done as soon as possible as he could potentially transform their midfield alongside the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Eriksen. But for now, both will have to wait and hope their rivals do not hijack their target.
Who will sign De Jong?United
Chelsea
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