Pep Guardiola is considering a move for Frankie de Jong after Manchester City walked away from signing Declan Rice.
But Guardiola is ready to pay £90 million for West Ham midfielder Rice, but West Ham is asking as much as £100 million. The City boss is keen to bring in a new midfielder after Ilkay Gundogan rejected a new contract and opted to move to the Nou Camp. Guardiola ended his interest in Rice when the fee was higher than what he was prepared to pay, clearing the way for Arsenal.
Guardiola tried to sign De Jong in 2019, but De Jong is a Barcelona fan, and Barcelona offered a huge contract. He was United’s main transfer target a year ago when United manager Ten Hag, who had coached him at Ajax, tried to make him one of United’s first signings. But the 26-year-old Dutch star has opted to stay at Barcelona and is in no rush to leave Spain.
However, he knows Camp Nou executives are open to a sale to improve the club’s desperate financial situation. De Jong earns £400,000-a-week after tax, has three years remaining on his contract and has retained the backing of manager Xavi. But Barca want to keep his wages off the books and know City have the cash to buy a top midfielder following the race for Rice.
Referring to last summer’s transfer saga involving De Jong in February, Xavi said: “He was very clear with me. He wanted to stay with us, there was no doubt about it.”
“He’s our player and I’m very happy and satisfied with his performance and his leadership. He’s having a great moment, like the whole team. I think he’s having fun out there and that’s the most important thing. .” Return to Sohu to see more
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2023-07-02 15:34:00
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