9 months ago
46 There appears to be a lot of noise again around Barcelona midfield ace, Frenkie de Jong.
The Dutchman was touted as a potential Man United hire a year or so ago, but it was abundantly clear that he wasn’t interested in leaving the Catalan giants at that point.
During the 2023/24 season so far, he has again been the fulcrum for Xavi Hernandez’s side.
Both as a supplementary defender and attacker, he is the player that sets the tempo and dictates the direction.
His marauding bursts forward have been a feature this season, though his fine personal form has been overshadowed by a poor return by the team more generally.
Given his importance to the blaugranes, it’s no real surprise to understand that the club want to keep hold of him.
“There have been lots of rumours about Frenkie de Jong lately guys, but I can tell you that Barcelona will try to extend his contract in the next months,” Fabrizio Romano said in his exclusive Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside.
“They still believe in Frenkie and there’s no news on the player side so far regarding wanting to leave the club.”
Despite that perceived willingness on both sides to keep the current status quo, there’s always a chance that things could turn out differently.
“Of course, if both sides can’t agree on a new deal, the situation in the summer could change,” Romano added.
“I’m not hearing anything on decisions made or negotiations ongoing, and I’m not aware of any Tottenham bids so far, despite the stories.”

Much is likely to depend on just what offer Joan Laporta and Deco will make to the player and his entourage, and whether they see that as acceptable.
Given Barcelona’s well reported financial problems, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to believe that the club will try and persuade the player to take a slightly lower offer, and that may tempt de Jong to look elsewhere.
