Frenkie de Jong looked set to seal a move to the Premier League for the majority of the summer transfer window amid interest from Chelsea and Manchester United. The 25-year-old was one of Barcelona's assets they were open to selling to resolve their financial troubles but he remained at the La Liga outfit.
football.london understands that the Blues have liked De Jong for a number of years now and despite once being confident of landing the defensive midfielder a move never materialised. In an interview after the summer deadline, De Jong revealed that he made his decision to stay at the club in May.
"I was calm. I decided, in May, that I wanted to stay," he told Ziggo Sport. "My opinion has never changed during all this period - I remained calm. But then you know that the pressure would start coming. Yes, from the newspapers, from the president. From everywhere in fact. But I wanted to stay at Barça, so it never baffled me."
