Spanish Reports: Man United Challenged By Chelsea For Frenkie De Jong Signing

As talks between Manchester United and Barcelona for Frenkie de Jong have stalled, Chelsea have reportedly begun work to hijack the transfer.

A key story of this summer transfer window has been the attempts of Manchester United to bring Dutch midfielder, Frenkie de Jong, to Old Trafford, with the club having been in negotiations with Barcelona since the window officially opened.

United’s own pursuit of the Dutchman has been limited in recent days because of a dispute between de Jong and Barcelona about De Jong’s deferred salary during Covid, with over £17 million being owed to the player.

However, it looks as though United may have competition for the 25 year-old, as Chelsea have emerged as potential suitors for the midfielder.

In a livestream on his Twitch channel, Gerard Romero, the editor of Barcelona FC news channel, Jijantes FC, reported that warmed up to the prospect of signing de Jong from Barcelona.

🗞 Chelsea have indeed warmed up to the prospect of signing Frenkie de Jong. [@gerardromero]

— Utd District (@UtdDistrict) July 7, 2022

This was further corroborated by Revelo reporters, Toni Juanmarti and Sergio Santos, who also stated that Chelsea had “burst into force” in an attempt to hijack the efforts of United.

🗞 Chelsea have burst in force to sign Frenkie de Jong and are very interested, with two players Barcelona want on the table - Marcos Alonso and Azpilicueta. [@tjuanmarti, @sergiosantos]

— Utd District (@UtdDistrict) July 7, 2022

Losing De Jong to Chelsea of all clubs will prove to be a huge blow in two major aspects for the club.

Firstly, United are in need of a midfielder in the mould of the Dutchman, who can provide both a creative outlet for the team and a solid defensive presence in the middle of the park.

This would enable Manchester United to be far more effective in transition, meaning they could fully utilise their attacking assets which they generally failed to do in the 21/22 season.

While Christian Eriksen, a similar player in an attacking sense, is in the process of completing his paperwork before joining the club, he doesn’t provide the longevity that de Jong does at the start or Erik ten Hag’s project, nor the ability to turn defence into attack that De Jong can.

Secondly, losing out on the Dutch midfielder would prove to be a huge blow to the reputation of John Murtough as Football Director and Richard Arnold as Chief Executive.

The pursuit of Frenkie de Jong has been the first real test of both of their ability to secure targets in the transfer market.

Signing Tyrell Malacia offered a glimpse of effectiveness in the transfer market from Murtough and Arnold, but this would be largely erased if they were to lose their key target.

This would largely damage their respect in the fan base and it would be an uphill battle to regain such respect from fans which have voiced their concerns with predecessor, Ed Woodward, on numerous occasions.

The news of Chelsea’s interest in De Jong comes amidst their reported interest in Cristiano Ronaldo, with the 37 year-old eager to leave Old Trafford for Champions League football.

There is yet to be updates from English journalists on these developments, however, so United supporters will be hoping that this interest is exaggerated in order to speed up proceedings.

The details will likely come in due course.