Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong breaks his silence on summer transfer saga amid Chelsea links
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has revealed that he never intended to leave the Catalonia club this summer, amid interest from Chelsea.
The 25-year-old was heavily linked with a move to the Premier League this summer, however, nothing could materialise. The Blues were in talks with the midfielder with former boss Thomas Tuchel keen to bolster his midfield.
Now in an interview with Ziggo Sport, as quoted by Marca (h/t Football. London), the Dutch international revealed that he had no intentions of leaving and that he had already made his decision in May.
“I was calm. I decided, in May, that I wanted to stay. My opinion has never changed during all this period – I remained calm. But then you know that the pressure would start coming. Yes, from the newspapers, from the president. From everywhere in fact. But I wanted to stay at Barça, so it never baffled me.”
De Jong moved to the Spanish club in 2019 from Ajax Amsterdam. Considered one of the best in his position, the midfielder is yet to live up to that mark during his time in Spain.
The 25-year-old has featured 10 times for the club this season in all competitions, scoring one goal in the process. Chelsea, on the other hand, signed Carney Chukwuemeka and Denis Zakaria this summer.
While Chukwuemeka has only made one appearance so far this season, Zakaria is yet to play. Conor Gallagher seems to have found his form while Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount have been excellent for the Blues so far this season.
The midfield department has been excellent under Graham Potter. While adding De Jong would have likely made it more better, it is still doing its job and has been delivering winning results for the past few games.
De Jong sees his current contract expire in 2026. It remains to be seen if the Blues are still interested in the midfielder and make a move for him in either January or next summer.
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A player of his class would elevate our midfield to another level. It’s not like we don’t have quality players already but the likes of N’Golo Kante and Jorginho are in their 30s and Denis Zakaria’s loan signing has proven to be a flop move.