Chelsea willing to pay a premium for Frenkie De Jong

Chelsea are keen on signing Frenkie De Jong and could be ready to pay a premium price to agree a deal with Barcelona this summer, according to a report from Mundo Deportivo (h/t SportWitness).

The 26-year-old has established himself as one of the best central midfielders in world football and he could improve the Blues immensely.

Although Chelsea have players like Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo at their disposal, they could certainly use a technically gifted midfielder like De Jong who will add craft, drive and flair in the middle of the park. Chelsea are certainly missing someone with his skillset right now.

The report from Mundo Deportivo, via SportWitness, claims that the Blues would be willing to offer ‘a lot of money’ to sign the Dutch international if he’s available this summer.

According to the report, Barcelona want to tie De Jong down to a new deal with his existing contract expiring in 2026. The midfielder is yet to respond to their latest offer so the Catalans will cash-in if he hasn’t committed his future by the end of the season.

If they do decide to sell, the report says Barcelona want around £85 million for De Jong. Given the money Chelsea paid for Fernandez and Caicedo, the Blues are unlikely to baulk at such demands.

Can Chelsea convince De Jong?

However, it is fair to assume that a player of his quality will want to join a club capable of winning league titles and Champions League trophies. Chelsea are not at that level right now.

They finished mid-table last season and they are headed that way once again this campaign.

It remains to be seen whether Chelsea can turn things around and finish the season strongly. There is no doubt that they have an impressive squad at their disposal and they have a quality manager in Mauricio Pochettino. So there is no reason why they cannot put together a winning run and finish in a respectable position in the table.

However, De Jong is a world-class player and he’ll need to be convinced Chelsea will be competing for trophies if he was to move to Stamford Bridge. One things for sure, it would be a major coup if the Blues can get a deal done.