De Jong’s agent in Barcelona to sort out future, two options in front of midfielder

When Barcelona faced Manchester City on Wednesday night, Frenkie de Jong not only started but almost participated for the entire 90 minutes. Moreover, he has played a part in both of the Catalans’ league games this season.

Barcelona have been desperately trying to get rid of the Dutchman but the player’s situation has clearly not stopped Xavi from utilising his services. As the transfer market nears its end, the focus is on de Jong, now more than ever.

According to reports from SPORT, the midfielder’s agent Ali Dursun is already in Barcelona to discuss the future of his client. A meeting with the club’s administration is scheduled and will be decisive in dictating de Jong’s future.

The Catalans have placed two options in front of the 25-year-old star – to lower his salary or leave the club. However, he is not willing to take a wage cut given that he already accepted one in the last two years.

If de Jong rejects the option of salary reduction, Barcelona will look to accelerate talks over his departure. Chelsea and Manchester United are closely following his situation and are best placed to land him this summer. However, he has no intention of leaving the club.

The Netherlands international is one of the club’s highest-paid players and takes up a massive chunk of the wage bill. Needless to say, his departure or salary cut would help the Catalans sign and register new players.

Moreover, Bernardo Silva’s potential arrival is directly linked with de Jong’s departure. The Portuguese international is rated highly by Xavi, but the Catalans can only sign him if they can offload de Jong or convince him to take a pay cut, thereby creating enough space on the wage bill.