Erik ten Hag has given Frenkie De Jong top priority for the club’s transfer ambitions ever since he joined Manchester United in 2022. Even though Barcelona is open to considering offers for the Dutch midfielder, Manchester United has been aggressively chasing a deal for him. De Jong, nevertheless, has always stated that he wants to remain at Barcelona.

Reports suggest that although De Jong played a crucial role in Barcelona’s La Liga triumph last season, he is open to the idea of leaving the club at the end of the current campaign. Chelsea has emerged as a strong contender in the race to sign De Jong and is reportedly prepared to offer €100 million to secure his services.

According to reports, Barcelona’s management is thinking of selling De Jong to raise money for the team and take care of performance issues. De Jong, who has two years left on his deal, is among Barcelona’s top paid players. De Jong’s representatives are aware of Manchester United, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain’s interest in him, even if there hasn’t been any noticeable progress in contract negotiations.

For the last eighteen months, Manchester United has been chasing De Jong, and they are still keen to sign him. Chelsea, though, is prepared to spend €85 million to make the deal happen. The club has already added a lot of midfield depth with the arrivals of Moises Caicedo from Brighton for a club record £114 million in the summer and Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for £107 million in January. Romeo Lavia, a midfielder for Chelsea, was also purchased by Southampton for £58 million, despite Lavia’s struggles with injuries and limited playing time this year.

However, De Jong’s excessive wage demands have presented a significant obstacle to the negotiations. Deco, Barcelona’s sporting director, has tried to start contract extension negotiations, but so far there doesn’t seem to be a chance of an agreement. With Manchester United and Chelsea fighting for Frenkie De Jong’s signing in what seems to be an exciting transfer battle, his future is still up in the air.