Chelsea have entered talks with Barcelona about signing Frenkie de Jong, according to The Athletic journalist David Ornstein.
Even though Manchester United have already agreed a fee in the region of €85m (£71m) for the Dutchman, Ornstein says that Chelsea are “optimistic” about hijacking the deal:
🚨 Chelsea have offered Brighton £50m+ for Marc Cucurella. Not yet done as #BHAFC seek higher fee & replacement: Colwill top target. Cucurella personal terms agreed. #CFC also in talks with Barcelona for Frenkie de Jong + hope to strike deal @TheAthleticUK https://t.co/XTI76wRynC
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) August 3, 2022
While not all fans on Twitter believe that United are out of the race to sign de Jong, many are now resigned to losing out on the player following this latest update:
That’ll be that then.
— Matthew James (@MatthewJamesFPL) August 3, 2022
Yep its over for us…
— Daniel🇧🇦 (@UTD_Daniel_) August 3, 2022
next target, i’m sick of this saga
— dvirmaatuk (@dvirmaatuk) August 3, 2022
Why not ? We have totally bottled it
— SK (@All_Might175) August 3, 2022
@Matty_reid42 hope we aren’t being done over here
— Matthew (@Matty_McCormick) August 3, 2022
Over for us
— MrGen 🧔🏻 (@gengodswill) August 3, 2022
@ConMac0 we are finished
— Jp (@JpKc_) August 3, 2022
I ain’t even flinching. He goes to United if he leaves Barca. I’m absolutely certain about that!!!
— Oluwanifemi 😈 (@neefe_nawti) August 3, 2022
If Chelsea goes for him, i think it’s done. FDJ will wears blue.
— Prana Adisapoetra 🇮🇩 (@Pranadsptr) August 3, 2022
It’s going to happen… we’ve wasted so much time
— Josh Sammons (@JoshSammons7) August 3, 2022
Ornstein is a very reliable journalist so there can be no doubting the authenticity of this report, but a lot will hinge on what de Jong himself decides to do.
Chelsea can be optimistic about getting an agreement with the player, but United have been working on the deal for months. It would be a surprise if manager Erik ten Hag had pushed for this transfer if he wasn’t certain about the player’s interest in moving to Old Trafford so we shall see how this story plays out.