Chelsea have been handed a major blow in their mission to sign Frenkie de Jong this summer. The 25-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League as Barcelona look to solve their ongoing financial troubles.
According to Spanish outlet Marca, everything indicates that the Netherlands international will snub interest from the Blues and stay put at the Camp Nou. football.london understand that the west Londoners have liked the idea of signing De Jong for a few years now.
Chelsea were said to face competition from United for the midfielder's signature, with Tuchel once confident of beating Erik ten Hag to a deal. It's said that the Blues have been in talks with De Jong over a potential move to Stamford Bridge as the German looks to bolster his midfielder with more creativity.
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While the arrival of De Jong looks unlikely, if reports from Spain are to be believed, the signing of a midfielder would be a welcomed arrival with N'Golo Kante out injured. Despite Barcelona's well-documented financial struggles, officials at the club seem unwilling to let the Dutchman leave, making a potential agreement all the harder.
As quoted by the Mirror last month, Joan Laporta insisted that De Jong is not for sale: "Frenkie de Jong is a Barcelona player. We don't want to sell him unless we have no other choice.
"Of course, we know there are offers for De Jong, but we don't want to sell him. There are clubs that want him, not just United. We have no intention of selling him, he wants to stay.
"Frenkie is considered as one of the best midfielders in the world by all the experts. We are happy to have him. I'm going to do everything I can in my power so that Frenkie stays here, but there's also a salary issue, and that would have to be adjusted."
De Jong, who sees his contract at Barcelona expire in 2026, is said to earn close to £ 360,000 a week, making him one of the best-paid players at the club. But, the Spanish giants owe him £17million in deferred wages from the pandemic, according to The Telegraph. This obviously remains to be an issue.
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