Manchester City have maintained a interest in Frenkie De Jong, but it remains to be seen if Barcelona would ever consider selling him. The 24-year-old has spent two years at the Camp Nou and has five years remaining on his existing deal, so the Catalans aren’t obligated to cash in any time soon.
Despite this, Ruben Uria of Sport (h/t Sport Witness) believes there is a slim chance City could bring De Jong to the Etihad Stadium for around €70m (£59.2m) by using Ferran Torres as a makeweight. The 21-year-old has impressed at City but is reportedly open to a move back to Spain.
Torres has scored 16 goals and made four assists in 43 games since joining from Valencia last summer and has attracted the interest of the Catalans. Uria believes he’s worth €70m too, so a straight swap that sees De Jong go to Manchester and Torres to Barcelona would benefit both parties.
That being said, Torres has filled a void in attack left by Sergio Aguero’s departure, so Pep Guardiola has a more fervent need for the 21-year-old rather than adding to his midfield. And why would Barca get rid of De Jong given they extended his contract only 12 months?
Perhaps take this story with a pinch of salt.
In other news, director had ‘meeting in Manchester’ for 21 y/o, £33.8m player ‘open’ to move