Chelsea are upping their pursuit of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong. Originally, Manchester United were vying for De Jong’s sign as the priority signing for the midfield. Barcelona and Manchester United even agreed on a deal worth £63.5m upfront for the player. Barcelona still owes him £17m in deferred wage payments. This means De Jong wants to remain at Barcelona. He is reluctant to leave the club without an agreement over his exit term and a discussion about his wage. Chelsea emerged as a late contender for the payer’s signature this transfer window. Thomas Tuchel sees De Jong as a long-term investment for the club. As such, they are negotiating a contract for the player this season.
De Jong is primarily a Central Midfielder. However, his versatility and adaptability mean that he is comfortable playing anywhere in the midfield. He is extremely resistant to the press and is effective in all three-thirds of the pitch. De Jong can advance possession for his team with his creativity. Moreover, he can also drop deep and act more as a number 6 to overcome deep defensive blocks and maintain possession for his team. He has played in the double pivot and has attacked from there on with his penetrative dribbling. Moreover, his timing of the release of the ball is a great asset for De Jong. His ability to draw in players and then thread the ball through the gap created is a sight to behold.
De Jong can alleviate some of Chelsea’s midfield headaches
Kante is widely regarded as one of the best box-to-box midfielders in Europe. Moreover, he is getting old and getting increasingly prone to injury. Ngolo Kante suffered a hamstring injury in the match against Spurs this last weekend. Frenkie De Jong is a great backup/upgrade to Kante for Chelsea. Moreover, his versatility means he can also cover Jorginho’s role as number 6 while Gallagher or Loftus-Cheek play as attacking midfielder in the double pivot.
Chelsea have enjoyed immense success with the 3-4-3 system under Thomas Tuchel. Frenkie De Jong can slot directly into the heart of the system. With two and a half weeks remaining in the transfer window, Chelsea have to decide fast whether to go for De Jong or trust the available options they have at their disposal.
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