Chelsea have been repeatedly linked with Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong this summer.
On August 3rd, taking things forward, Sport stated the west London club are in a hurry to close a deal for the midfielder.
Another report from Sport today writes the La Liga side have ‘granted permission to Chelsea to negotiate directly’ with the 25-year-old.
The Blaugrana are clear they will not let the player leave for less than €80m. This is the fee Barca want for the Netherlands international as they plan to use these funds to sign Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva.
Chelsea sealing the potential deal depends on several factors. At the moment, everything is in the hands of the former Ajax star, who is being pressurised on a daily basis to leave the Blaugrana.
Barcelona will have to lower their wage bill to register new signings and De Jong’s exit can help them in this regard. The Dutchman’s salary for the new season is said to be totally unaffordable for the Camp Nou side.
Barcelona, through the Catalan media, have stressed the player either has to leave or accept a pay cut to stay at the club. Barca continue to hit a brick wall as they have not managed to convince him to leave or reduce his salary.
De Jong, so far, hasn’t given his arm to twist. This could cause concerns to the Catalan club, if the situation doesn’t change as we approach the end of the window. His agents, meanwhile, have travelled to Barcelona to assess their client’s situation.
Chelsea have been given permission to hold talks with De Jong and the Blues will hope to convince him to join them this summer.
Time will tell whether or not they will be successful.
