The Dutchman, a major source of income at Barça, listens to the siren songs emanating from the two Manchester giants
Frenkie de Jong is one of the names on the market at Barça. The Dutch footballer is at a crossroads where he can be a bargaining chip, a player who can earn the income the club needs or even go on and be important to Xavi. That’s the scenario unfolding for a midfielder who until recently was rumored to be a culé flag in the future and whose future as a Barca player now hangs more in the air than ever with the two Manchester giants on the prowl.
“We will do what is best for the club. If the economic levers we want to activate come out, no player will come out for economic reasons,” said Joan Laporta on May 17, a few words nuanced just a week later: “There are players who have great quality, but who have a market. In this case it will depend a lot on the issue of ‘fair play’». That tug-of-war that the maximum president of the culé lives is the one that Barcelona also lives, who knows it has a diamond in its hands that will not explode, but which is still a good asset to deal with the economic crisis that the club is going through, even with the levers activated from this Thursday.
And it’s that Frenkie de Jong arrived three years ago as one of the great promises of the Old Continent, but he’s not done exploding yet. The Dutchman triumphed at Ajax reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League and his signing for 75 million plus eleven in variables seemed a safe bet, a dominant player in the most decisive plot at Can Barça. Today, that promise has not been confirmed and Barca are torn between continuing with that bet or cashing in before the market value falls.
Given this situation, two teams have already focused on the 25-year-old footballer and both are from Manchester. City and United look at Frenkie de Jong and do it differently. Pep Guardiola’s team is looking for a footballer to support his spinal cord and seems willing to involve Bernardo Silva in the operation as a bargaining chip, which fits the model Xavi is looking for for the Catalans. Tarrasa’s coach wants to continue to count on De Jong, but he is aware of the situation the entity is going through and would be happy to let him go if a replacement of guarantees comes along, something that seems to have been fulfilled as the crossroads between the camp Well and the Etihad stadium. Bernardo Silva is a top footballer who this season, without going further, has scored thirteen goals and provided seven assists, numbers higher than that of De Jong, who has only scored four goals and conceded five goals.
Manchester United’s interest is different. The ‘Red Devils’ signed Erik ten Hag this summer, the coach with whom Frenkie de Jong showed his best version at Ajax and a coach who has made attracting his pupil an absolute priority for this transfer market. So much so that the Old Trafford club could have already submitted an initial proposal of €60m plus 20 in variables. The offer is already being studied at Barcelona and would save the 40 million euros that the Dutchman adds to the club’s wage bill between his record and the depreciation that is still ongoing.
The two offers could satisfy Barcelona, which continues to see the departure of Frenkie de Jong as necessary. The culé club assures that it is a sporting decision, but the operation would also be economically important. The former Ajax player has not taken the step forward at Barca to become a head footballer, he has seen players like Nico, Pedri or Gavi explode around him and he has not been able to show his leadership. This lack has meant that Xavi no longer considers him essential to the project and also that the €13 million he receives per season seems an insurmountable mountain amid the situation Barcelona is going through. That salary today is not the culé reality. However, it appears that for the two Manchester giants, they are the first two clubs to open their doors to him this summer.
Source: La Verdad
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