Premier League giants Manchester City have reportedly cooled their interest in Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong amidst links of a Manchester United move.
As per reports in The Telegraph, Manchester City have ‘distanced themselves’ from a possible summer move for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong. The Dutch midfielder continues to be linked with a move to City’s arch-rivals Manchester United.
Spanish journalist Gerard Romero sent the transfer mill into overdrive by claiming that Manchester United have a 95% probability of signing the Dutchman with incoming manager Erik ten Hag keen on a reunion. Barcelona are in a financial fix and need to clear their wage bill to sign players in the summer and de Jong, who hasn’t been able to recapture his Ajax form with the Catalan giants, could be the one moving out.
Since joining Barcelona from Ajax in 2019, de Jong hasn’t quite taken the Spanish league by storm, showing flashes of brilliance. In all, he has made 138 appearances for the Blaugrana, scoring 13 and assisting 17 goals.
This season, he has been involved in 45 matches across competitions with a return of four goals and five assists. In three seasons with the Catalan giants, de Jong has won just one trophy: the 2020/21 Spanish Cup.
The 25-year-old is reportedly on a £200,000-a-week wages after tax and has two years left on his contract with the Blaugrana. Barcelona had signed him for £75 million in 2019 and will want to recoup most of the amount they spent on him.
BBC’s Simon Stones subsequently reported that the Red Devils aren’t the only side interested in de Jong’s signature with a ‘lot of other clubs’ monitoring his situation. But recent reports from The Telegraph have now claimed that Manchester City have pulled out of the race to sign the midfielder.
Pep Guardiola’s side are in the transfer market for a defensive midfield signing with Fernandinho leaving this summer. The Cityzens were interested in de Jong before he joined Barcelona three years ago and reports claimed that they were back in the hunt to sign him next summer. But the Premier League champions have not revived their interest in the 25-year-old.
It remains to be seen who Guardiola’s side decide to target to bolster their midfield in the summer. As for de Jong, a move to Manchester United also looks unlikely due to the lack of Champions League football on offer at Old Trafford.
