Chelsea and Man City among four teams looking to sign Barcelona superstar | OneFootball

In over two years at Barcelona, Frenkie de Jong has still been unable to carve out an identity for himself in the team.

Signed for an enormous sum of €86 million from AFC Ajax in 2019, the Dutchman was expected to become the leader of the pack for the Catalan giants. However, things have not worked out as planned, with the 24-year-old failing to make the impact expected.

While he has shown signs of his undisputed quality, de Jong has been unable to carry it over a sustained period, while his showings in the big games have also been questioned. With things not improving, there have been murmurs of Barcelona considering the prospect of cashing in on him to ease the club’s financial situation.

There seems to be no shortage of suitors for the Netherlands international either, as Fichajes is reporting that as many as four European giants are willing to sign him. Indeed, Chelsea, Manchester City, PSG and Bayern Munich are all interested in Frenkie de Jong.

All four clubs have a long-standing interest in the Barcelona superstar, with recent reports even indicating that Chelsea have made an offer for his signing. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of the ex-Ajax ace, while both PSG and Bayern Munich are looking to refresh their midfield options.

Frenkie de Jong to fund Haaland move?

It is no secret that Barcelona are looking to sign Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. However, any deal to land the Norwegian international will require a major investment given his €75 million release clause, wage demands as well as agent fees likely to be involved.

Given Barça’s economic situation, raising such a huge capital would require the club to get rid of some of their top players. And, de Jong, despite his struggles, remains one of the Blaugrana’s most sellable assets and could be used to generate the funds to sign Haaland, reports ARA.

With cash-rich clubs like Manchester City, Chelsea and PSG interested, the La Liga giants should not have an issue in extracting top dollar for the 24-year-old, in case they do decide to offload the Netherlands international come summer.

Xavi keen to help Frenkie de Jong turn things around

However, if the decision comes to manager Xavi Hernandez, the Netherlands international might not be allowed to leave. It has been recently claimed that the 41-year-old has complete and total faith in de Jong and he is prepared to help the midfielder fulfil his immense potential.

“Frenkie needs to be an important player for the team. And he will be… for sure,” Xavi said in his pre-match presser ahead of the game against Alaves.

In order to help de Jong step up and prove his worth, Xavi is believed to have asked him to make a few tactical changes to his game, reports SPORT. The manager wants the Dutchman to not drop too deep to get himself on the ball and is encouraging him to make more late runs into the box while utilising his body better while dribbling.

While de Jong continues to enjoy the faith of his manager, failure to turn things around between now and the end of the season could very well take the decision of his future out of Xavi’s hands.