As per Fernando Polo and Ferran Martinez writing in the Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, Laporta and his board have decided to keep Frenkie de Jong at Barcelona for his projection, while the sports area and the technical staff don't mind his departure if they can sign Bernardo Silva.
Frenkie de Jong's situation continues to drag on despite the fact that his continuity at FC Barcelona began to be questioned back in May, with the appearance of a powerful interest from Manchester United.
Erik Ten Hag at his debut match against Brighton
The Dutchman declined Old Trafford's offer despite the fact that Barça made it clear to him that his departure would do the club a great favor in terms of 'fair play'. Frenkie didn't want to leave Barcelona despite having a close relationship with his former Ajax coach, and now Manchester United coach, Erik Ten Hag.
Barca linked Bernardo Silva of Manchester City
In parallel, FC Barcelona were exploring the possibility of signing Bernardo Silva from Manchester City, the only player for whom Xavi would sacrifice the Dutchman. The Portuguese is crazy to join Barca and he has Guardiola's word that he wouldn't stand in the way if an offer from the Blaugrana's arrives.
Chelsea's new owner Todd Boehly
However, five days before the start of La Liga, Frenkie still does not want to leave. Chelsea is also monitoring his situation, although when Chelsea's owner Todd Boehly called him personally, Frenkie declined that offer as well.
De Jong has admitted to players close to him in the Barca locker room that Chelsea is a better option than United precisely because they are in the Champions League, but he still wants to stay at Barca.
However, something has very recently changed at Barca. While a month ago the position was of forcing De Jong out, not so much anymore. Here's what president Laporta had to say about Frenkie in the lead up to Barca's Joan Gamper match against Pumas, “De Jong wants to stay and we want him to stay.”
The president and the leadership of his board are beginning to think that the option of Frenkie staying is a good one. As per Mundo Deportivo, the replacement of Busquets must arrive sooner rather than later, it is a risk they are reluctant to take. Barca's captain Sergio Busquets plans to play his last World Cup, later this year, and then plans to hang up his boots from European football at the end of this season.
President Laporta likes De Jong's style and his age as well. He loves his qualities and that he has the ability to play the ball out from the back singlehandedly. The progressive carry is de Jong's strongest attribute, a skill that's rare these days. It's precisely his ability to overcome lines of pressure by picking up the ball, together with the central defenders, makes him a good candidate to eventually replace Busquets. The Dutchman would be a good substitute, although Barca coach, Xavi, doesn't see him as a holding midfielder.
Now what Barca want from de Jong is a salary reduction, and that's why the hoopla of yesterday. Xavi said after the Gamper match that De Jong is, for him, “an important player”. However, he had previously said that "the market is open until the 31st and we'll see what happens."
The Barça coach highly values the Dutchman's skills and does not want to lose him to incorporate a lower-level player. For example, he would not accept being exchanged for Ruben Neves ( Wolverhampton ) or Carlos Soler ( Valencia ).
In the sports area, Frenkie is also highly valued, but they like Bernardo as well, and they know that Bernardo will charge less wages than the Dutchman. Why Barca are coming to their senses is that the Premier League is a highly inflated market. If Chelsea have paid almost 70 million euros to sign Marc Cucurella from Brighton, City would ask for much more for the Portuguese. And Laporta isn't willing to pay that, even on instalments.
Comments
Post a Comment