Watch: Fabrizio Romano has ‘truth’ on Chelsea’s hijack plans for De Jong
Fabrizio Romano has given us the full lowdown of whether Chelsea can hijack Manchester United‘s move for Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong.
Hijack is one of this summer’s buzzwords, with Barcelona particularly busy in the transfer market – as Chelsea fans know all too well.
Earlier this month, Leeds United reportedly accepted a £65million bid from Chelsea for Raphinha, but the Brazil international ended up going to Barcelona – it’s said that the La Liga giants offered less in terms of a fee and wages, but his heart was set on Camp Nou.
The latest news is that the same thing could potentially happen with Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde. Chelsea’s bid for the 23-year-old Frenchman has been accepted by Sevilla, but Barcelona are still said to be interested and may yet launch a rival offer at the 11th hour.
Losing out on two top targets would be a bitter pill to swallow for Thomas Tuchel’s Blues, especially with new owner Todd Boehly aiming to lay down a marker since taking over the club in the summer.
However, there are suggestions that Chelsea could still do business with Barcelona, and get one over their Premier League rivals Manchester United in the process.
United’s offer for De Jong has been accepted by Barcelona, but the player himself is reportedly reluctant to move to Manchester and to a club that is unable to offer Champions League football next season.
That’s in spite of Erik ten Hag, the manager who brought him through at Ajax and arguably got the best out of him, looking to build a new project around the Netherlands midfielder.
Could Chelsea really gazump United for De Jong’s signature? Here’s what transfer guru Romano has had to say.
“There is interest in Frenkie de Jong…” the Italian began.
“Thomas Tuchel, Todd Boehly… they love Frenkie de Jong. But let me say, who doesn’t love Frenkie de Jong in European football? Fantastic player. So it’s absolutely normal.
“But at the moment, there is no bid from Chelsea. They know – Chelsea, as Man United know too of course – that De Jong, as of today, wants to continue at Barcelona. Frenkie wants to stay at Barca.
“Let me say, that the situation is pretty clear since June – he wants to continue at Barcelona. So this is why Chelsea are not submitting a proposal until they know that Frenkie is not changing his mind.”
You can watch the video below.
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