Major Man Utd transfer target told to join Chelsea as reports claim a move ‘seems imminent’
Former England international Glen Johnson reckons choosing Chelsea over Man Utd will be a “no brainer” for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong this summer.
The Red Devils have been tracking De Jong for a while with Man Utd making their interest known to Barcelona around two months ago.
However, the Premier League side are yet to get a deal over the line with the two clubs’ valuations of De Jong around €40m apart at the start of negotiations.
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It is now understood that Man Utd and Barcelona have agreed a deal worth €85m (£72m) for the Netherlands international but there are still hurdles to jump before a deal can be finalised.
Barcelona still owe De Jong around £17m in deferred wages and bonuses from during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and that will need to be sorted before he leaves.
While there are reports that insist De Jong is set on staying at Barcelona this summer despite the Catalan giants’ willingness to sell him.
Chelsea have recently been mooted as possible contenders for De Jong’s signature too with claims they could look to part-exchange Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso for the midfielder.
And former Chelsea defender Johnson reckons it would be an easy decision for De Jong to make if the Blues are serious about their interest.
Johnson told BettingOdds.com: “They [United] can beat Chelsea to the signing of Frenkie de Jong, but only if they break the bank.
“If you’re the player and you’ve got two of the same offer, one from Manchester United and the other from Chelsea, then it’s a no brainer, you’re going to go to Chelsea all day long.
“Manchester United no longer have that authority. There was a time when Manchester United came knocking and the answer would be ‘yes’.
“They can only sign players now that Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich don’t want, unless they’re going to double the player’s salary.”
But Spanish newspaper AS (via Sport Witness) has claimed today that a move to Man Utd ‘where they love him’ now ‘seems imminent’ despite his hesitancy.
AS said: ‘For now, he has trained professionally, which is what he has to do, but he doesn’t want to be wasting time either. His goodbye seems imminent.’
