Chelsea co-owner Todd Boel has spoken directly to Barcelona midfielder Frankie De Jong about a possible move to Stamford Bridge but hasn’t gotten the reaction he hoped for.
The 25-year-old is at the center of the biggest transfer frenzy of the summer. Manchester United have been chasing him for months and Chelsea are now in the running to sign him.
Barca are keen to cash in and write off the highly paid Dutchman, unable to sign many new contracts until De Jong gets paid big.
However, the former Ajax midfielder has no desire to leave Catalonia and is happy to settle in Barcelona.
Chelsea believe that failing to qualify for the Champions League is one of United’s big handicaps and is well placed to convince De Jong to switch from La Liga to the Premier League.
However, with the Blues set to play in Europe’s top leagues this season, moving to London would prove more attractive to de Jong and his family than moving to Manchester.
However, according to a Spanish publication, reliefDe Jong has once again ruled out a move to England after speaking recently with Chelsea manager Ball.
After Roman Abramovich sold the club and Marina Granovskaya and others left, the American businessman acted as interim sporting director of the club.
Boel has already been busy this summer, signing Kalidou Koulibaly, Raheem Sterling and Marc Cucurella. Thomas Tuchel hopes to strengthen Chelsea’s midfield with the addition of De Jong.
He is Barca’s most marketable asset, and the Catalan club have given Chelsea permission to negotiate with the Dutch player, saying the Blues would match United’s offer.
De Jong listened to Boel’s release in a lengthy phone call, reiterating his desire to remain at the Camp Nou and honor his contract with Barcelona.
Despite his calm demeanor, Chelsea are still trying to persuade De Jong to move to Stamford Bridge, but he is finding it very delicate and difficult to close a deal this summer.
The midfielder has around £14m in outstanding wages following wage deferrals due to the pandemic and Barcelona expect the buying club to pay that particular fee.
Barca officials have repeatedly called on De Jong to leave the club, with the Spanish outfit telling the player on Monday that they had found evidence of criminal conduct in connection with the 2020 contract extension granted by the previous government.
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Source: Metro
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