Barcelona and Chelsea have almost reached an agreement on a transfer from Frenkie de Jong. That reports the leading The Times Wednesday afternoon. However, that does not mean that the playmaker from Arkel will actually go to Stamford Bridge, because he will also have to agree to a switch. That is the tricky point: De Jong actually does not want to leave Barcelona at all.
Chelsea’s interest in De Jong is not new, but that the Blues being close to an agreement with Barcelona is news. It is not clear what the London club would be willing to pay for the former Ajax player. The expectation is that the amount is not far from the 85 million euros that Manchester United previously wanted to pay for the services of the the Dutch international. Barcelona also agreed to this a few weeks ago, but then De Jong himself put an end to that transfer.
The midfielder did not like a collaboration with Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford, so it remains to be seen whether an employment contract with Chelsea is interesting enough for De Jong. His dearest wish is to stay at Barcelona, but he is no longer welcome at the Catalan club. The club management already tried to sell De Jong to various clubs and also tried to have the former Ajax player hand in salary, which he refused.
Barcelona even threatened legal action to have De Jong’s contract declared invalid, reported The Athletic Monday. The club is said to have informed the playmaker on July 15 that the last contract he signed, in October 2020, should never have been signed. The promised conditions are said to have come about through ‘criminal actions’ by the previous board and so Barça think it can cancel De Jong’s current contract.
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