Frenkie de Jong would rather join Man United’s rivals if he is forced out

Manchester United have been pushing to sign Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona all summer. The Red Devils have made the 25-year-old their priority target, with manager Erik ten Hag keen on a reunion with his former AFC Ajax protege.

The Red Devils even have an agreement over an €85 million deal with Barça over the transfer of the Netherlands international. However, their efforts to sign him have hit a stonewall as the midfielder has no intentions to join the Red Devils.

The lack of Champions League football has been cited as a major issue for his stance, while it has also been claimed that de Jong does not like the city of Manchester or the way the club have been run in recent years.

However, Barcelona are intent on forcing him out of the club this summer as they need to get rid of his massive wages to register their new players.

With the situation not improving, SPORT has now come up with an update, stating that in case de Jong is forced out of Camp Nou, he would rather consider joining Manchester United’s rivals, Chelsea.

The Blues are also interested in the Barcelona midfielder and have been contemplating an offer. And should they come calling for him, the Dutchman would be open to making the jump to Stamford Bridge.

However, the report adds that there could be complications in such a move as there is a lot of friction between Chelsea and Barça due to the Jules Kounde transfer.

On top of that, it is also stated that Thomas Tuchel’s side would not offer the same amount of money as Manchester United for de Jong, making it a tricky affair for Barcelona.

De Jong does not wish to leave Camp Nou but is said to have been hurt by the way he has been treated, with Barça pressuring him into a corner by playing him out of position in pre-season. He is concerned that he could not play at all if he ends up staying at the club.

However, the Dutch ace is also not willing to take a pay cut to continue at the club as he has already sacrificed his wages in the past three years. The midfielder has a hard time contemplating the club’s actions to bring in new players and hand them contracts while asking him to reduce his wages.

There could be more developments in the situation once Barça return from their pre-season tour in the US. For the moment, though, de Jong does not wish to leave Camp Nou but would consider a transfer to Chelsea, who are yet to make any offer for him.