Manchester City have shown an interest in Frenkie De Jong this season despite being overstocked with central midfielders, but Sport (h/t Sport Witness) say Barcelona have slapped a lofty asking price on his head which may kill Pep Guardiola’s hopes of landing his signature.
Fernandinho is 37 years of age, Kevin De Bruyne is 30 and Ilkay Gundogan is 31, so City do have an ageing midfield that might benefit from fresh blood.
De Jong would be the ideal addition, having created more chances (43) than Phil Foden (37) while boasting more successful dribbles (one every 47 minutes) than the 19-year-old (one every 63.8 minutes) too, but he won’t come cheap.
Barcelona want €100m (£84.9m) for De Jong’s signature which City are unwilling to meet, so Guardiola’s dream of bringing him to the Etihad Stadium may be over.
The Netherlands international has four years remaining on his deal at the Camp Nou and appears to be happy at Barca, but Sport say the Catalans are open to his sale so the money can be reinvested on a replacement.
Whether City will capitalise remains to be seen, as the report suggest they’re only willing to include a player in the deal if it brings the price down. Barcelona want money only, so a move looks dead in the water.
In other news, injury to Fernandinho could see Rodri start in unfamiliar role v West Ham