Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has reportedly emerged as a priority target for Bayern Munich for the summer transfer window.
According to German publication Bild, as relayed by Mundo Deportivo, reigning German and European champions Bayern Munich have set their sights on Barcelona midfield star Frenkie de Jong as their top transfer target for the summer window.
Having burst onto the scenes at AFC Ajax, de Jong had the who’s who of football vying for his signature a couple of years ago. But, Barcelona beat the other clubs, including Bayern Munich, to the punch by landing the Dutchman in 2019, in a deal worth €75 million.
The 23-year-old has become a first-team regular at Camp Nou since his arrival and while he did not have the most memorable debut campaign, de Jong has come into his own in the ongoing season, especially in recent weeks, wherein he has played a key role in helping Ronald Koeman’s side to wins over the likes of Huesca and Athletic Bilbao.
Bayern Munich, having lost out to Barcelona a couple of years ago, have continued to track the Dutchman. The Bavarians had been interested in de Jong in the summer last year, but the La Liga heavyweights had made clear that their midfield jewel was untouchable.
Six months down the line and that has not deterred Bayern Munich, as they have once again made the Netherlands international their top transfer target ahead of the 2021/22 campaign. Die Roten lost Thiago Alcantara at the end of the last season while Corentin Tolisso will enter the final year of his contract.
With Marc Roca struggling to make the desired impact since arriving in the summer, it makes sense that Hansi Flick wants to add more quality to his midfield unit. And the prospect of someone of de Jong’s quality playing alongside Joshua Kimmich is certainly a mouth-watering one for Bayern Munich supporters.
Signing the midfielder, however, might be difficult considering his status in this Barcelona side under Koeman. At the same time, the Catalans are facing serious financial problems and might need to offload a few star players, like de Jong, at the end of the season to get things under control.
Considering that de Jong penned a new contract with Barcelona last October, extending his stay at Camp Nou till 2026, Bayern Munich will need to splash big money to land him in the summer.
It remains to be seen if the Bavarians are lucky this time in their pursuit of the Barcelona midfielder. However, the report does claim that they have lined up Boubacar Kamara, Eduardo Camavinga, Florian Neuhaus and Denis Zakaria as more affordable alternatives.
