Ajax’s 5-1 thumping of Roda JC at the weekend made many headlines, mostly because one of their many starlets, Justin Kluivert, scored a rather impressive hattrick.
However, another young man was highly praised for his performance, especially when you take into account he only played 45 minutes.
Coming on at half-time for Deyovaisio Zeefuik, Frenkie De Jong played a key part in the rout, picking up three assists in the second half, and catching the eye of many scouts, including Chelsea’s and Manchester City’s.
Of course, the youngster’s talent has been known for a while now, with other Premier League clubs linked in the past, but Voetbal International on Monday claim Antonio Conte’s and Pep Guardiola’s sides are the two with ‘serious’ interest.
Bayern Munich, Hamburger SV and RB Leipzig join the pair of English teams in the race to acquire the midfielder’s services, whose current deal at Ajax ends in 2019.
VI explain the Dutch side are trying to rectify that, and have offered the 20-year-old a three-year contract extension, trying to keep him at the club until at least 2022.
Like most Ajax youngsters, it seems de Jong’s future will be away from the renowned Eredivisie club, even if his main goal is to ‘play now’, something Chelsea and Manchester City probably wouldn’t be able to give him straight away.
A move to Stamford Bridge or the Etihad can wait.
