Man City prepare RECORD bid for Man Utd target De Jong

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 4 Jul 2023 19:32 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester City are reportedly ready to launch a full-blown attack to sign Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong after missing out on signing Declan Rice.

Rice, 24, is set to join Arsenal after the Gunners agreed a €120 million (£105m) fee with West Ham United to secure his services.

The England international was wanted by Pep Guardiola, but Man City weren’t prepared to meet West Ham’s asking price, something that wasn’t a problem for Mikel Arteta.

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However, Man City aren’t prepared to disregard the possibility of signing a new central midfielder - despite the summer arrival of Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea - and are readying a bid to sign Netherlands international De Jong, according to Spanish outlet Fichajes.

The former Ajax midfielder has been the subject of repeated interest from Manchester United since Erik ten Hag took charge at Old Trafford last summer, but the Red Devils have been unsuccessful in their attempts to sign him so far.

Now, it appears they have decided against pursuing De Jong and are set to sign Chelsea and England star Mason Mount. The 24-year-old is expected to be officially announced as a Red Devils player in the coming days after rejecting a contract extension at Stamford Bridge.

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De Jong to Man City?

Spanish publication Fichajes have reported that De Jong is of interest to Man City and the Citizens are willing to offer a fee of roughly €110m (£95m) to Barcelona in an attempt to persuade the Catalan giants to sell the Dutchman. If accepted, that would become the highest ever fee paid for a Netherlands player in history - a record that is currently held by De Jong himself (€86m to Barcelona).

Reportedly, Guardiola views De Jong as the perfect replacement for Ilkay Gundogan, who has joined Barcelona on a free transfer, having missed out on signing both Rice and Jude Bellingham.

De Jong has previously stated that he wants to continue his stay at Camp Nou, but Barcelona remain in financial difficulty and therefore could cash in on one of their few saleable assets. However, his contract at the La Liga side isn’t set to expire until 2026, which could make a possible deal more difficult.