Chelsea

Chelsea

Premier League • England

Chelsea ‘dream’ of signing Frenkie de Jong ahead of Man Utd; Blues interest takes agents ‘by surprise’

Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong

A report claims Chelsea ‘dream’ of signing Frenkie de Jong ahead of Manchester United, while the agents involved have been taken ‘totally by surprise’.

De Jong is the centre of a transfer tussle between Manchester United and Chelsea. Erik ten Hag wants to take the central midfielder to Old Trafford, but Chelsea are causing problems.

The Blues’ interest was first reported on July 2. More recently, Barcelona president Joan Laporta spoke about a possible exit for the 25-year-old.

“Frenkie de Jong is a Barcelona player – we don’t want to sell him unless we have no other choice,” the chief said.

“Of course we know there are offers for De Jong. But we don’t want to sell him.”

Despite Barca hoping to keep De Jong in Catalonia, there is a possibility he will end up in the Premier League given how much Chelsea and United want him.

Mundo Deportivo provide their take on the situation, as cited by Sport Witness. They claim Chelsea are yet to make an official move for De Jong, although they ‘dream’ of getting him before United.

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has reportedly held initial discussions with Barcelona officials about De Jong. And these talks took the player’s agents ‘totally by surprise’.

Frenkie de Jong pursued by two English giants

United are happy to fork out an initial £55.6million for the Netherlands international, plus £17.1m in add-ons.

Chelsea are less keen to pay such a fee. There have been rumours of a possible swap deal involving Jorginho, which would keep the price down.

Thomas Tuchel’s side believe they can take the initiative in the De Jong hunt by capturing Matthijs de Ligt first.

De Ligt is a good friend of De Jong’s and could convince the playmaker to swap Catalonia for West London.

Why do Manchester United want Frenkie de Jong?

Why do Manchester United want Frenkie de Jong?

Why do Manchester United want Frenkie de Jong when the player seemingly doesn't want a move to Old Trafford?

The transfer saga surrounding De Jong is one of the biggest of the summer. Barca would like it all to go away, but that is unlikely to happen until the window officially shuts.

De Jong probably wants his future to be sorted too, so he can begin pre-season with no background issues.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have come to an agreement with another Manchester City player amid Raheem Sterling’s pending transfer.