Xavi has admitted that he is unsure whether Frenkie de Jong will remain a Barcelona player past the September 1 transfer deadline, with Chelsea still locked in talks for the midfielder and the Spanish club's plan to try and sign Man City star Bernardo Silva looking doubtful
Barca's No.21 stared for the Catalan giants in their final 6-0 pre-season win over Mexican side Club Universidad Nacional (UNAM). Alongside fellow Blues target Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the 25-year-old netted and was arguably Man of the Match for Barcelona as they go into the 2022/23 La Liga season full steam ahead with Rayo Vallecano up first.
Off the pitch though, it is debatable as to whether or not Joan Laporta has done enough with the Spanish top flight to convince them to allow the club to register the five new acquisitions. Initially, the Mirror reported that La Liga had rejected Barca's latest claim to get the likes of Raphinha and Jules Kounde registered in time for the season kick-off.
READ MORE: Frenkie de Jong 'close' to accepting Chelsea transfer as Dortmund chase Bayern project
However, Laporta squashed these rumours at the first opportunity. "All signings can be registered," he told Spanish outlet Relevo before going on to claim in a separate interview that more work was in the pipeline.
"We’ve done a lot of work to build a competitive team and the work is not over yet," he added. "Some players will leave and another deal is also going to take place in principle."
He then went on to offer his verdict of De Jong but Xavi's response to the question about the former Ajax prodigy alongside Man United's latest move has given new owner Todd Boehly massive confidence that a deal can be struck before September 1.
"I don't know what will happen to Frenkie de Jong. Until August 31st anything can happen," Xavi said after the UNAM win. "He knows what I think and what the club want and need. Of course I'm counting on him, he's a great player."
The latest rumours are that De Jong could be involved in a transfer merry-go-round which would see Bernardo Silva moving to the Camp Nou whilst the Dutch international would move to Paris Saint-Germain to enable Marco Veratti to secure a Man City transfer.
However, as it stands, it looks like it's a Barcelona stay or a Chelsea move on the cards for De Jong currently, with Manchester United also lining up a move for Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot, potentially as an alternative to the Barcelona star.
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