Arsenal battling with Paris Saint-Germain over 2027 transfer for Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong

Back-to-back losses for Manchester City ahead of the international break have meant Arsenal have regained top spot in the Premier League standings after five successive wins in the English top-flight.

Despite the Gunners’ good form in the league and the Champions League, Mikel Arteta remains keen on adding further reinforcements to his squad and midfield remains his area of focus heading into 2027.

El Nacional has reported that Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong has emerged as a target for Arsenal prior to next year, and the Londoners are set to battle it out with Paris Saint-Germain over the Dutchman’s signatures.

On a related note, Fichajes has reported that De Jong, who has fallen behind Rodri in Barca’s pecking order, is set to command a £61 million asking price. Meanwhile, the player will only leave Camp Nou if Barca explicitly ask him to leave.

PSG could trump Arsenal to De Jong’s signing

Arsenal already have tremendous quality and depth in midfield, with the likes of Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino and Bruno Guimaraes joining the Gunners in the recent past. Therefore, what role Frenkie de Jong would have remains unclear.

While they have been linked with the Barcelona star’s purchase, Martin Zubimendi is believed to be frustrated by his lack of minutes and is considering his future. Even if he was to leave, Myles Lewis-Skelly is a reliable deeper-lying option.

The only reason Frenkie de Jong might be open to leaving Barcelona is to regain a regular role elsewhere, and the possibility of that at Arsenal remains a tall order given that Mikel Arteta more or less has an indispensable set of players in the engine room.

Paris Saint-Germain might be in a stronger position to pip the Gunners to De Jong’s signing as Luis Enrique effectively benches his preferred eleven in Ligue 1 matches, so the Barca star can be picked in those fixtures over the likes of Joao Neves and Vitinha.

It will be interesting to see what Hansi Flick has to see regarding De Jong’s future as he possibly has a strong say over transfers, and a player of the former Ajax Amsterdam midfielder’s calibre has also proven handy in defence, so he may continue to have utility elsewhere in the manager’s plans in spite of Rodri’s form lately.