Chelsea know they will beat Manchester United to the signing of Frenkie de Jong, according to reports in Spain.
The Red Devils have been linked with the Barcelona midfielder all summer as Erik ten Hag looks to reunite with a player he previously worked with at Ajax. The player himself though has shown no willingness to move despite a fee being agreed with Barcelona.
Chelsea have arrived late to the party and are confident they hold the upper hand. De Jong is desperate to continue playing Champions League football and the Blues can offer him that, whilst United can't. SPORT reports that the west Londoners are waiting for their moment to move as a result.
The Blues have yet to make any major moves in that area of their squad with the likes of Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and N'Golo Kante all in their squad. That trio are ageing however and Thomas Tuchel would welcome a new addition into his midfield.
Chelsea have already added the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling, but the feeling is they are still not equipped to challenge for the Premier League title and the arrival of De Jong would strengthen their hand. Barcelona are looking for €80m - but the Blues will look to get that fee down.
United's failure to add De Jong has left them to pursue other options with time running out to add new faces. Adrien Rabiot was on their radar but a deal has collapsed due to wage issues whilst the likes of Ruben Neves remain on their radar.
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The Catalans are desperate to get players off their books to generate some much needed revenue. Their financial situation is well documented and they have been willing to offload De Jong, whose wage issues with the club have been publicised and criticised.
Barcelona have continued to spend big this summer on the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, but cannot register new players until they raise some more funds, which will no doubt further their want to sell De Jong, who would command a hefty fee.
The Dutchman has remained part of the first-team picture however and came on as a substitute in their opening game of the season against Rayo Vallecano. Xavi said after the contest: “De Jong is not a substitute. He’s an important player and I have said that many times. I don’t know what will happen, but if he stays he will continue to be important."
