Chelsea look to hijack United’s De Jong deal
CHELSEA are ready to hijack Manchester United’s bid to sign Frenkie de Jong in a £71million deal from Barcelona. Sportsmail understands the Londoners are increasingly hopeful of winning the fight for De Jong, who is being swayed by the chance to play in the Champions League and live in the capital. Although the 25-year-old played under new United boss Erik ten Hag at Ajax, he is thought to view Chelsea as a better project. Both United and Chelsea are said to be prepared to pay De Jong the £17m he is owed by Barcelona in wages on top of the transfer fee, which is £63m plus £8m in add-ons. However, Chelsea will be able to bring the price down by selling Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso as part of the deal, having valued them at £8.4m and £12.5m. Barca have made offers to both players and remain in talks with Chelsea, who have also spoken to De Jong’s representatives. Although the Catalan club will bank £100m as part of a television rights deal this week, they still need more money to register new signings
Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen and Raphinha by September 1. Selling De Jong is seen as the ideal solution and Barca are trying to pressure him into leaving. Coach Xavi is believed to have told the Holland midfielder he will only be used sparingly and possibly as part of a back-three.
Ten Hag has made De Jong his No 1 target, so missing out to Chelsea would be a huge setback. United have a list of alternatives which includes Ruben Neves. But Wolves are increasingly confident of keeping the Portugal midfielder. He looked set to leave this summer and Wolves wanted about £70m. But while a late offer could change the landscape, Neves is now set to open talks over a new contract.
n EVERTON fear striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin will miss four to six weeks with a knee problem.
‘It was a freak injury in training,’ said boss Frank Lampard. ‘It’s a shame but we will find solutions.’