Chelsea have opened 'direct talks' with Barcelona regarding midfielder Frenkie de Jong as the Blues attempt to hijack Man United transfer.
After missing out on multiple targets this summer, Chelsea's transfer business is all of a sudden looking good, with Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Kouliably and young goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina all confirmed arrivals. Deals for Brighton wing-back Marc Cucurella and Aston Villa wonderkid Carney Chukwuemeka also look close, football.london understands.
De Jong looked set on a move to Man United earlier this summer after Erik ten Hag's side agreed a £71m fee for the Netherlands international, but talks have seemingly halted since then. Now, the Blues are acting on their interest in the midfielder, with The Athletic reporting that Chelsea have opened direct talks with Barcelona.
READ MORE: Chelsea shirt numbers available to Carney Chukwuemeka as Todd Boehly closing in on £20m transfer
So, if De Jong was to choose Chelsea over Man United this summer, how could he perform in Thomas Tuchel's side? Could the midfielder help the Blues challenge for the Premier League?
We simulated the 2022/23 season with De Jong in the Chelsea squad, and this is what happened.
We 'signed' Frenkie de Jong for Chelsea in July 2022
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for De Jong to join Chelsea before the start of the Premier League season, using FM22 to run the simulation. As well as his arrival, we also put Sterling and Koulibaly in the Chelsea side and gave them a budget to sign further players.
As expected, De Jong quickly became a key player in Thomas Tuchel's system, featuring in Chelsea's midfield two in nearly every game. Over the course of the season, De Jong made 50 appearances in all competitions, grabbing three goals and eight assists in that time.
Always a starter in the Premier League and Champions League, De Jong featured in every European match for the Blues whilst playing in 36 of the 38 league games. His best competition was the Premier League, where the 25-year-old grabbed two goals, five assists and averaged a rating of 7.32 per game.
Overall, in all competitions, De Jong averaged a rating of 7.3. His rating was the best out of all the Blues midfielders and the second-best in the Chelsea squad, only behind Kai Havertz (7.39).
Compared to his fellow midfielders, De Jong ranked highest in games played, average rating and Player of the Match awards (4), and the Dutch midfielder was also joint-highest in assists with Jorginho (8). De Jong also had the best pass completion at the club, with the midfielder's completion rate 93% in all competitions - the second highest being Kante at 88%.
At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best Chelsea XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what Chelsea's best XI looked like at the end of the 2022-23 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full Chelsea best XI (5-2-2-1): Mendy; James, Koulibaly, Silva, Chalobah, Chilwell; Kante, De Jong; Mount, Sterling; Havertz.
De Jong was partnered by N'Golo Kante in the best XI, with Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho and Conor Gallagher all missing out. Sterling made the best XI in his first season, whilst fellow new signing Koulibaly slotted into the back three alongside Thiago Silva and Trevor Chalobah.
So, how did the Blues perform in the league and cup competitions after signing De Jong in the summer transfer window? Let's take a look.
Chelsea's results from the 2022/23 simulation:
The Blues claimed a second-place finish in the Premier League in this simulation, earning 75 points - one point more than the previous campaign. Points-wise, it was a minor improvement from Tuchel's side, but despite moving up and finishing second, they weren't in the title race.
Man City won the Premier League with an incredible 97 points, 22 points ahead of Chelsea as they won the league with ease. The addition of Erling Haaland saw City reach a new level, with the striker ending the season as the league's top scorer with 29 goals.
Despite missing out on the Premier League, the Blues were extremely successful in the cup competitions as they dominated the domestic competitions to end the campaign with two trophies. The first came in the Carabao Cup, where goals from Havertz and Mason Mount handed the Blues a 2-1 win over Man United.
The Blues then faced Newcastle in the FA Cup final and managed to win 2-1, with new signing Sterling scoring the winner after Havertz opened the scoring. Chelsea were poor in the Champions League though, with the Blues blowing a 3-1 first-leg lead to lose 4-1 in the second and 5-4 on aggregate, crashing out in the last 16.
Overall, this Football Manager simulation predicts that if Chelsea were to sign De Jong ahead of the 2022/23 season, the Dutch midfielder could quickly become the best midfielder at the club and have a fantastic impact on the squad. The added depth to the Blues' midfield helped with rotation in all competitions, ultimately helping Tuchel's side win two trophies in the simulation.
Would you like to see De Jong sign for Chelsea this summer? Let us know in the comments!
READ NEXT:
Chelsea can use Kai Havertz transfer success to secure £80m Thomas Tuchel Premier League dream
Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: All the latest updates and rumours from Stamford Bridge
Full Chelsea Premier League fixture list for 2022/23
Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea face fresh questions after summer of change
Chelsea's Kyle Walker-Peters transfer option makes sense but raises huge £38m question
