Manchester City Eyeing Barcelona Star Frenkie de Jong After Missing Out on Declan Rice
Manchester City are considering a move for Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong after missing out on Declan Rice. The treble winners made a £90million bid for the West Ham United skipper at the start of the week but walked away from negotiations after Arsenal upped their offer to £100million plus £5m in add-ons.
Pep Guardiola’s Interest in De Jong
Pep Guardiola is keen to bring the Netherlands international to the blue half of Manchester. The City boss initially tried to sign de Jong in 2019 after his stunning campaign with Ajax, missing out as the midfielder joined Barca. Guardiola is aware Barcelona chiefs are open to a sale as part of the club’s continued financial difficulties. However, the Spanish champions would expect City to match the £90m offer they were prepared to put down for Rice.
De Jong’s Interest in Staying at Barcelona
De Jong has remained on United’s wish list although the club appear to have moved onto other targets with a deal for Chelsea star Mason Mount agreed this week. In June, the Dutchman spoke out to pour cold water on talk of another summer of speculation. Asked by Voetbal International if leaving is not an option this season, De Jong said: ‘That has been clear to me, also last summer when things were restless for a while. I always knew that I wanted to stay at Barcelona, that’s why it wasn’t so stressful for me last summer.’
Conclusion
Manchester City remain keen on bringing in a new midfielder following Ilkay Gundogan’s decision to leave at the end of his contract, having since joined Barcelona. Despite De Jong’s desire to remain at Barcelona, City are still interested in making a move for the Dutchman. However, they would need to match the £90m offer they were prepared to put down for Rice in order to make it happen.