August 04, (THEWILL) – Frenkie de Jong of Barcelona, has been involved in a protracted transfer drama this offseason that has become more dramatic with Chelsea’s fresh interest in his services.
In light of Barcelona’s financial troubles, the 25-year-old Dutchman has been linked with a move away from Camp Nou especially with the Catalan club’s off-season investment on Robert Lewandowski and other players in a period where they are having some issues with their salary cap and spending limits in La Liga.
These limits imply that before they can sign some of these latest recruits, the Catalans must release certain players, and De Jong has been penciled down as one of those that can be let go for the sake of balancing the books. As THEWILL has reported, de Jong has been heavily sought after by Manchester United, but he has not been eager to leave the Blaugrana for Old Trafford, leading to a standoff.
Now, Chelsea has started speaking with Barcelona in an effort to sabotage Manchester United’s pursuit of the Dutch midfielder. The recent story is that De Jong, who is still due deferred salary by Barcelona, is more willing to move to Chelsea than United.
He is one of the Barcelona team members that the Blues are targeting because Chelsea is also thinking about signing Barcelona attacker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and the agents of the former Arsenal player have already met with the Blues.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
