Barcelona ready to negotiate with Man City for Dutch midfielder | OneFootball

Well into his third season at Camp Nou, Frenkie de Jong finds himself staring at an uncertain future at Barcelona.

Signed for a mind-boggling €86 million fee from AFC Ajax in 2019, great things were expected of the Netherlands international. While he has shown glimpses of his undisputed quality, the 24-year-old has been unable to do so on a consistent basis.

One of the major gripes held against the Dutchman is that he often goes missing in the big games. And, that was the case again this past week as Frenkie de Jong failed to muster up any sort of impact after starting against Real Madrid in the Spanish Supercup semi-finals.

The ex-Ajax prodigy was hooked off at half-time in favour of Pedri after a disappointing 45 minutes, which has now raised further questions over his future. It had been previously reported that the midfielder was one of the ‘untouchables’ at the club, but that may no longer be the case.

According to El Nacional, Barcelona are now ready to consider the prospect of offloading de Jong, even as Premier League champions Manchester City lurk to sign him up.

Pep Guardiola is believed to be a great admirer of the Dutch midfielder and wanted to sign him not long ago. However, he had been met with a refusal by Joan Laporta at the time.

But, that stance is now understood to have changed as the Catalan bigwigs are open to negotiating a sale. The emergence of midfield prospects like Gavi, Nico Gonzalez and Pedri is said to have played a hand in the Blaugrana’s change of heart over the Dutchman’s situation.

De Jong, for his part, would also be open to a change of clubs if he is offered a better sporting project and would sit down to discuss his future with Barça in the summer.

With Bayern Munich also among the clubs interested, the former Ajax star could be required to make some major decisions a few months down the line.