Pep Guardiola is seeking a clear goal in the next summer Mercato, which is to find a player with special specifications to complement Rodri in the midfield, and Manchester City is choosing between several options.
As Mateo Kovacic and Mateus Nunes did not perform as expected, and the absence of Ilkay Gundogan, who was the team’s leader and brains, was very noticeable and specifically, they considered signing the Barcelona star to fill the huge void he left.
According to information received from El Nacional newspaper, Guardiola wants to sign Barcelona’s Dutch star Frenkie de Jong, whom Manchester City tried to sign in the past, back when he was still playing for Ajax Amsterdam.
The newspaper added that Joan Laporta and Deco are seriously considering the possibility of selling him, in order to obtain income to finance several other deals in the future.
The newspaper continued: The position in which De Jong plays, Barcelona has many good enough players in his position, so they are open to discussing the agreement with any team that makes an offer exceeding 75 million euros.
The newspaper pointed out that there are many English leagues interested in the 27-year-old midfielder, such as Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United, but Guardiola wants to prevent him from promoting a direct competitor, and hopes that he will end up defending the colors of City.
Money is not a problem for them, and they can without any problem pay the amount requested by Barcelona. And of course the salary that the Dutch player will demand.
Frenkie de Jong will be guaranteed a very important role in the lineup, and one of the highest salaries in the team, falling behind only Erling Haaland on the pay scale.
De Jong is one of the figures who currently seems to be more present outside Barcelona than inside it, as is the case with Ronald Araujo, Rafinha and Robert Lewandowski, who are also on the list of deals drawn up by Laporta.