Ajax and Netherlands sensation Frenkie de Jong is stuck in the middle of a tug-of-war between Spanish giants Barcelona and French giants PSG
The 21 year old has been linked with many top European clubs ever since the beginning of the season. This includes the likes of English champions Manchester city, and their city rivals Manchester united among others. However, it seems that his options have now been narrowed down to Barcelona and Paris Saint Germain. Earlier, it looked like PSG had done enough to convince de Jong to move to Parc des Princes. However, things have taken a turn as reports suggest that Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu personally flew done to convince the much-coveted youth star to join their ranks. Bartomeu was accompanied by Pep Segura, Eric Abidal and Ramon Planes.
Frenkie de Jong is considered to be one of the finest European talents at the moment. And it is a well known fact that Barcelona is arguably the best place for any youngster to realize his potential. Frenkie de Jong, still only 21, has already become one of Ajax’s key players in the midfield. He also boasts of averaging more passes per game than any other player in the Dutch Eredivisie. His completion rate is not bad either, at 92.2%. De Jong has made 28 appearances this season across all competitions. He has scored 4 times and setup one. He already has 5 international caps to his name for the Dutch national team.
PSG are looking at de Jong to be the ideal replacement for Adrien Rabiot who has refused to extend his stay at the Parc des Princes. The 23 year old’s contract extpires at the end of this season, post which he will become a free agent. Barcelona were reportedly interested in securing the services of Rabiot, but it seems that they prefer de Jong over the former.
Author’s take
It looks like money is not really going to be a factor for either clubs as far as signing de Jong is concerned. It might very well boil down to the fact whether de Jong will be provided with a spot in the starting 11. And it seems that PSG might have a better chance of giving him that than Barcelona.
