Chelsea are reportedly optimistic that they can agree a transfer deal for Barcelona midfielder and Manchester United target Frenkie de Jong.
According to journalist Ben Jacobs, this could be a crucial 48 hours in De Jong’s future after a lengthy summer of speculation.
See the Twitter thread from Jacobs below as he provides an update on De Jong, including the fact that Chelsea could be set to agree a deal for the Netherlands international that’s worth slightly less than the one Man Utd agreed for him with Barca earlier in the summer…
Big week as Chelsea pursue Frenkie de Jong and Wesley Fofana. Clarity on FDJ future expected within the next 48 hours. FDJ still doesn’t want to take a pay cut opening the door to #CFC. #MUFC have all but given up.
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) August 10, 2022
De Jong looks like he could be a useful addition to Thomas Tuchel’s squad, with Jorginho into the final year of his contract and perhaps no longer at his peak.
The Italy international initially joined under Maurizio Sarri, who also worked with him at Napoli, but it might be that Thomas Tuchel would view De Jong as being a better fit for his tactical approach.
It’s a blow for United if they miss out on De Jong, however, as he’s seemingly been Erik ten Hag’s priority target all summer, with the pair working well together at Ajax a few years ago.