9 months ago
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Manchester United and Arsenal will be on alert as Frenkie de Jong is considering his future at Barcelona, according to reports in Spain.
De Jong is currently in his fifth season at Barca after joining in a £65 million deal from Ajax in 2019.
Erik ten Hag had made De Jong his priority signing for United in the summer of 2022 but while Barcelona were actively open to a sale, the Netherlands international refused to leave Camp Nou.
However, speaking on Esport3’s ‘Onze’ programme, journalist Lluis Canut, who has a close relationship with former Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman and De Jong’s entourage, claimed that the midfielder is now ‘disappointed’ with Barca and is now more open to the idea of moving clubs.
‘De Jong is frustrated with the expectations he set upon his arrival, such as winning trophies such as the Champions League and having a competitive team,’ Canut said.
‘He is very disappointed with the club.’
Meanwhile, Relevo report that Barcelona’s hierarchy ‘have doubts’ over De Jong and are contemplating selling the 26-year-old this summer in order to improve the club’s finances.
De Jong is currently one of Barca’s top earners, although earlier this week, the club’s sporting director, Deco, claimed that the Dutch midfielder would not be offloaded in order to finance a deal to sign Kylian Mbappe, who is set to be available on a free transfer this summer once his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires.
‘I don’t know what will happen with Mbappe,’ Deco said.
‘It would be a mistake to sell [Ronald Araujo and De Jong]. I would like to improve the squad and not make it worse. I think it would be worse for the team if Araujo and Frenkie left and Mbappe came.’
Arsenal could also potentially be interested in a deal for De Jong, who has previously admitted that he was open to joining the Gunners before his move to Barcelona was sealed.
‘In my mind, I have had the following list for a long time: Ajax-Arsenal-Barcelona, call it the Marc Overmars route,’ De Jong said in 2019.
‘But then again, if you can go directly to Barcelona, then you are right where you want to be. Faster than you ever dared to dream.’
It’s understood that Mikel Arteta is keen for Arsenal to recruit a new central midfielder in the summer and has already held talks with Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, who has a €60m (£51.2m) release clause.
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