According to El Nacional, Chelsea wants Frenkie de Jong in return for Christian Pulisic. The American international has struggled at Chelsea due to injuries and is reportedly on Barcelona’s radar. While the Catalans may opt for a swap deal given their financial struggles. The Blues are ready to sell Pulisic for £42.5 million but Barcelona may not be able to afford the cash and hence a swap deal looks suitable.
Xavi likes players who can provide width and also had an interest in signing Sterling some time ago. However, Barcelona’s attention is shifted to Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic and may be forced to proceed with a swap deal instead of a cash deal. Nevertheless, Chelsea wants Frenkie de Jong in return, and any club is lucky to have a talent like de Jong. Following this Barcelona will lose a real gem if they go forward with this swap deal.
Although Xavi has made it clear that de Jong is ‘not for sale’ in any case in recent interviews. Frenkie has a contract at Barcelona till June 2026 and is unlikely to leave the Catalans soon as he is seen as a very important asset to the club. However, we have experienced a crazy summer transfer window which has led us to believe anything is possible.
What Chelsea can get out of Frenkie de Jong?
Frenkie was a key member of Ajax’s incredible 2018-19 team. He drew the attention of many top clubs across the world while anchoring the Ajax midfield. What set him apart was his excellent game awareness and quick decision-making. This was complemented with exceptional dribbling, acceleration, and balance, as well as great ball distribution. Barcelona signed the Dutch midfielder for €75 million and are enjoying his services since.
Chelsea may have to terminate Saul’s loan spell at the club due to lack of game time. The Spanish midfielder has failed to catch the eye of their boss Thomas Tuchel. He has barely started for the club and also has no goal contributions to show for. He was signed for a one-year loan but Chelsea may want to send him back after just half a year. Atletico Madrid will also not be interested to get Saul back after just 6 months as his loan move helped them land Griezmann for one year.
Chelsea are very capable of making this deal happen but Barcelona may have second thoughts about this transfer. Frenkie de Jong is highly regarded and admired by many players and managers around the world. There is a high risk of losing a great player for Barcelona and they cannot afford to make wrong decisions to recover from their bad phase and return to dominating Europe.
Why does the swap deal not have a good future?
Although it is a tough deal to take place, there is no writing it off. Barcelona may get desperate for wingers as Dembele is mostly injured and Coutinho is not putting in performances as he used to before. Memphis Depay plays as the centre forward since Luuk de Jong and Martin Brathwaite are now mostly out of favour. Xavi likes to play wide but to acquire that he may lose a gem of a player. Barcelona may even struggle to replace Frenkie de Jong at the club causing them to struggle more. Xavi has the option to rely on La Masia wingers and he may as well do that.
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