Bayern: We’re not signing Man Utd-target Frenkie de Jong
FT Desk
- 23 Jan 2022 12:30 CST
- 3 min read
Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer has denied reports that Bayern Munich are interested in signing Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong.
Marca reported on Sunday that Bayern had been in contact with the agents of De Jong with a view of bringing the Dutchman to Germany as early as this month.
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However, Hainer had denied this.
“We have a very, very strong team and I don't see any reason why we should do something in the winter”, he told Sky Deutschland.
De Jong is understood to be available for transfer from Barcelona, with Man Utd believed to be leading the race for his signature in 2022.
Why Barcelona may sell De Jong
The main reason Barca want to sell is a financial one. Barcelona are swimming in debts of over €1.3 billion and are desperately trying to raise cash and cut costs.
Barca have struggled to offload unwanted players on high wages - even if they did just loan Philippe Coutinho out to Aston Villa - and even if they do have more success in this regard, their unwanted players will not bring in much in terms of a transfer fee.
The second reason Barcelona are willing to sell is because they already possess the two best teenage central midfielders in world football in wonderkids Pedri and Gavi.
New Barcelona coach Xavi is a huge fan of both starlets and believes they can more than fill in the void if De Jong leaves.
De Jong joined Barcelona from Ajax in the summer of 2019 for €75 million but has largely failed to live up to his sky-high potential.
He had emerged as one of the most exciting youngsters in Europe when Ajax reached the Champions League semis in 2018-19.
