Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has made it clear that he would prefer to join Manchester United snubbing a move to Premier League rivals Chelsea.
The future of the Dutch international seems uncertain with the Catalan club trying to sell him in order to raise some much-needed funds. United and their new manager Erik Ten Hag have been in pursuit of the dynamic midfielder for a while now, but nothing seems to have worked between the two clubs.
Todd Boehly, the new owner of the Blues, flew to Barcelona in a frantic attempt to sabotage the deal for De Jong. In the discussion with Boehly which was attended by Barcelona director Mateu Alemany, consultant Jordi Cruyff, and president Joan Laporta, the Dutch international made his intentions clear to everyone as he stated that he prefers a move to the Old Trafford if he is forced to move out of Barcelona.
De Jong would want to reunite with his former manager Ten Hag, under whom he flourished at Ajax. The Red Devils are equally eager to complete the move and are said to have agreed on a transfer fee of roughly £70 million for the midfielder, but the discussions have subsequently halted.
According to reports from the Spanish outlet Marca, the transfer move is getting delayed because Barcelona actually owe De Jong a total of £17million in deferred payments and bonuses during the COVID pandemic.
While the former Ajax midfielder prefers to end up at Manchester United over a move to Chelsea, it is still unclear whether either of the options seems attractive to him. De Jong had reportedly stated that his genuine ambition is apparently to stay at the Camp Nou and excel in the Blaugarana colours.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta stated publicly earlier this week that De Jong will not be sold. “Frenkie de Jong is a Barcelona player, and we don’t want to trade him until we have no other option," he said. The statement might be a well-strategized plan to get United to increase their offer for the player.
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