Why a January move for Frenkie de Jong makes no sense for Chelsea

Stefan Bienkowski

• 15 Jan 2022 16:58 GMT
• 7 min read

Chelsea could be set to kick off their January transfer window with an audacious bid for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

According to El Nacional, the London club are seriously interested in testing the resolve of Barca for one of their star players.

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De Jong hasn’t been enjoying the best of seasons at the Catalan side and could reportedly be for sale.

But would a move for the Netherlands international in the January window make any sense for Chelsea right now?

Do Chelsea need another midfielder?

While Chelsea may be scrambling for solutions after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester City, signing another central midfielder doesn’t make a huge amount of sense. At least not at this point in the season.

In Saturday’s clash, Tuchel started N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic in the centre of the pitch and had both Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jorginho on the bench. Not to mention Saul Niguez to boot.

Even if the club are looking for a little bit of fresh blood in midfield, making a signing like De Jong at this point in the season would completely rule out the club’s high hopes of bringing in Billy Gilmour and Conor Gallagher next season.

Not only do Chelsea still have a number of excellent midfielders, but they also have more than enough cover for now.

How much would De Jong cost?

According to the reports in Spain, the Barca midfielder could be signed for little more than €40m, but that doesn’t make a huge amount of sense.

The same reports claim that Xavi is keen on keeping the Holland international and with a contract that is set to run until the summer of 2026, De Jong is still valued at an impressive €75m.

As such, Chelsea would likely be forced into paying top price for the 24-year-old talent, even if Barca may be tempted into selling him.

The question remains as to whether it would be worth Chelsea going to all that trouble for a player that isn’t exactly setting the heather alight at this moment in time.