Frenkie de Jong is thought to favour a move to Manchester United over Chelsea.
New Blues owner Todd Boehly has jetted out to Barcelona to discuss potential transfers. The Catalan giants have already made one acquisition from Stamford Bridge in the form of Andreas Christensen on a free transfer, but are also thought to be in for Blues duo Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso. Barcelona director Mateu Alemany, consultant Jordi Cruyff and president Joan Laporta were all present for the meeting with Boehly.
Going the other way, Chelsea are thought to be keen on on hijacking United's long-running move for De Jong but their efforts could come immediately unstuck by the fact the Dutchman heavily favours a move to Manchester.
With an Old Trafford switch, De Jong would enjoy a reunion with former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag. The Red Devils are just as desperate to get the deal over the line and are thought to have agreed a fee of around £70million for the midfielder but talks have since slowed down.
The reason for the delay stems from the fact that Barcelona actually owe De Jong £17million in deferred payments and bonuses from during the pandemic. De Jong's time at Barcelona has been somewhat mixed, with periods of his best from few and far between.
While De Jong would prefer a move to United over Chelsea, it is unclear whether either of those propositions are more attractive to him than simply staying put. His true desire is reportedly to remain at the Camp Nou, something club president Joan Laporta has stated he is in favour of publicly, but which, privately, isn't understood to be the case.
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Chelsea's transfer dealings could be hit with a further blow given their pursuit of Matthijs de Ligt looks set to end in failure as the central defender is more likely to join Bayern Munich. The Blues are in desperate need of defensive reinforcements after the departures of Christensen and fan favourite Antonio Rudiger, plus the expected exits of Azpilicueta and Alonso.
Manchester City star Raheem Sterling is on the verge of completion after a £45million fee has been agreed between the two teams and the England man agreed personal terms.
An update on the pursuit of Leeds United winger Raphinha is also expected in the coming days after Chelsea reached an agreement with the Elland Road hierarchy but the Brazilian continues to hold out for a move to Barca.
