Barcelona have received ‘direct interest’ from Chelsea in Frenkie de Jong, with the Blues looking to beat Manchester United to his signature.
That’s according to Sport, who say Chelsea are keen to sign the Dutchman in a deal that could include Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso.
There is also a possibility that Barcelona pair Memphis Depay and Sergiño Dest could be involved in the transfer as Chelsea have inquired about both in the past.
The newspaper explains that De Jong in the ‘main target’ this summer, though, and Chelsea have now ‘entered the bidding’ with Manchester United, who have been trying to sign him for weeks.
Barcelona and United are yet to reach an agreement, though, because the Catalans want €80m for the midfielder.
Chelsea, however, could offer €60m plus Azpilicueta and Alonso, two players that Barcelona are keen on bringing in this summer as part of their rebuild.
At the moment, the Blaugrana club has ‘only listened’ to the proposal and would prefer cash without any sort of swap deal, but that stance could change.
Chelsea would be ‘in a position’ to close a deal for De Jong, and manager Thomas Tuchel has been in contact with the player’s entourage to discuss the possibility of a move to Stamford Bridge.
Nothing will be done on that front until an agreement between Chelsea and Barcelona, but Tuchel believes he can convince De Jong into the move as the player would live in London and be playing Champions League football.
Barcelona, meanwhile, are ‘confident’ that Chelsea’s interest will ‘warm up’ Manchester United to pay what the Catalans are looking for.
At the moment, they’ve ‘stalled’ on an offer of €60m plus €20m in addons. They are also yet to reach an agreement with De Jong, who is due to return to pre-season next week.
Chelsea’s interest could lead to ‘tense times’ at Old Trafford, particularly as Barcelona chief Mateu Alemany is trying to reach an agreement ‘as soon as possible’ so they can spend the money on additions for Xavi.
