Chelsea to hijack Man United target

Chelsea in 2019 watched Frenkie De Jong closely before he left Ajax for Barcelona are now monitoring developments around Dutch International and could target the Barcelona midfielder if his move to Manchester United breaks down.

According to reports, Man United have agreed a fee of €65m (£56.2m) plus add-ons for De Jong and negotiations are now centred around the player’s personal terms. It is believed that the 25 year old is open to moving to Old Trafford despite previously stating that he is in no rush to leave Catalan giants.

The former Ajax man has been Erik ten Hag’s No1 fan and target ever since he arrived at Old Trafford and Sportsmail sources have indicated a deal between United and Barcelona for the Netherlands star is ’90 per cent’ complete, with just the players personal terms left to conclude.

However, the Barcelona midfielder’s close relationship with Ten Hag has been one of the key factors in his decision and agreeing personal terms is unlikely to be a problem.

Barcelona who need to raise money for signings through sales could also listen to offers for Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong as Chelsea monitor the developments surrounding the 25-year-old according to reports.

Man United could face competition from Chelsea as they turned their attention to Frenkie de Jong, the Blues may be in for a transfer battle with their Premier League rivals as they prepare to match United’s bid.

However, Chelsea could be plotting a swoop that could rise close to £70m as the Neitherland international is keen to play in the Champions League which is not currently on offer at United for De Jong according to The Guardian.

Blues boss Thomas Tuchel is said to be a fan and admirer of the 25-year-old after watching him in 2019. It remains to be seen whether Chelsea plan to follow up on their interest.

The west London side main priority is strengthening in defence and attack but there is also uncertainty over their central midfield options with Saúl Ñíguez returning to Atlético Madrid after his unsuccessful loan spell and Jorginho and N’Golo Kanté will both be out of contract next summer.

In defense, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen’s exits has yet been replace with the likes of Juventus’ Matthijs de Ligt, Manchester City’s Nathan Ake and Sevilla’s Jules Kounde reportedly remain of interest at the back.

In attack, England and Man City’s Raheem Sterling and Leeds United’s Brazilian star Raphinha are believed to be targets up front.

The Blues’ midfielder is less of a priority as Tuchel now have Conor Gallagher back to Stamford Bridge after an impressive loan spell at Crystal Palace.