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Chelsea keeping tabs on Man Utd’s pursuit of Frenkie de Jong

Premier League rivals Chelsea are keeping tabs on Manchester United’s pursuit of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, The Guardian report.

The Red Devils have been in prolonged negotiations with Barcelona to sign the 25-year-old and have recently agreed on a fixed fee of around €65 million.

The club are currently discussing the payment structure of add-ons worth €20m, and they would then proceed to negotiate personal terms with De Jong.

This should not act as a stumbling block, but The Guardian claim that Chelsea could make a late approach for the midfielder if talks with United breakdown.

The west London club would offer De Jong with the opportunity to play in the Champions League next term which remains one of the Dutchman’s priorities.

Our view:

United have spent an entire month trying to persuade Barcelona to sell De Jong. They are currently on the verge of finalising a transfer agreement with them.

Once that is done, the hierarchy may need to move fast on negotiating personal terms, given Chelsea have been making late transfer approaches this summer.

They recently made a move for Leeds United’s Raphinha, who was initially on Arsenal’s radar. The deal has not materialised, however, with Barcelona entering the race.

Meanwhile, it has been recently revealed that they tried to hijack Tottenham Hotspur’s pursuit of Richarlison, but their part-exchange offer was snubbed by Everton.

It won’t be a surprise if they make a late push to sign De Jong. United can’t afford to let the Dutchman slip from their hands, and need to sort out his transfer at the earliest.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com