Frenkie de Jong has not ruled out a move to Chelsea this summer and would prefer a move to Thomas Tuchel’s side ahead of Manchester United, according to reports in Spain.
United have agreed an €85 million (£72.2m) deal with Barcelona for De Jong, but the midfielder’s preference has been to remain at Camp Nou.
Barca must also settle their current dispute with De Jong as they owe him over €20m (£17m) in unpaid wages.
Last week, reports claimed that De Jong’s agent has been encouraging Chelsea to submit an offer to Barcelona.
And according to Sport, while De Jong’s main aim is to stay in Barcelona, he has also not closed the door on a move to Chelsea.
The report claims that De Jong is against joining United as they will not be playing in the Champions League. At the same time, the Netherlands international is not interested in living in Manchester.
It’s also claimed that De Jong recognises that Chelsea has a ‘sporting project and a structure that lives up to their sporting aspirations’, while he ‘does not look favourably’ on a switch to United.
Chelsea, however, has not submitted an official offer to Barcelona for the 25-year-old.
De Jong has been Erik ten Hag’s top target this summer, and the United manager has urged the club’s hierarchy to keep pushing ahead with a deal, even if talks continue until the final weeks of the transfer window.
De Jong is currently with the Barcelona squad for their pre-season tour of the United States.
Barcelona, meanwhile, has been speaking with Chelsea over a deal for Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso.
Azpilicueta is now closing in on the move to Camp Nou while ongoing talks to sign Alonso.
