Serie A giants Juventus are reportedly keen on signing Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona in the summer transfer window.
According to a report by Catalan outlet El Nacional, Frenkie de Jong is the subject of interest from Juventus over a possible summer move in the summer transfer window. The Serie A giants could be waging a transfer battle with Manchester City and Chelsea in pursuit of the Barcelona midfielder.
Frenkie de Jong has established himself as one of the best midfielders in Europe since joining Barcelona from Ajax in July 2019. In the last two and a half years, the Dutch international has cemented his place as a mainstay in midfield for club and country, although the 2021/22 season has been difficult for him.
The 24-year-old has made 117 appearances to date for Barcelona, with 24 of those outings coming in the ongoing campaign. But amid their crushing financial woes, Barcelona could sell de Jong in the summer transfer window to balance their books and fund key transfers. This situation has alerted several European bigwigs, including Juventus.
The Serie A giants urgently need to bolster their midfield despite signing one top-class midfielder in Manuel Locatelli last summer. Such a situation has cropped up due to inconsistent performances of Arthur Melo, Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot, who are all facing uncertain futures at Juventus.
Arthur could be on his way to Arsenal as early as January, although the Serie A giants are putting up some stumbling blocks for the Gunners. But offloading Ramsey and Rabiot is a priority for Juventus, which, in turn, creates the need to sign a new midfielder.
Frenkie de Jong has thus emerged as a viable target for the Bianconeri, with a midfield partnership featuring Locatelli, Weston McKennie and the Barcelona midfielder potentially having game-changing capabilities. But Juventus will need to fend off stiff competition from Manchester City and Chelsea to prise the 24-year-old away from Barcelona.
The Blues have already tabled an offer for the Dutch international, although that was swiftly rejected by Barcelona. The report makes no mention of the kind of bid Juventus will be willing to make, but one can imagine they will pay a handsome sum for de Jong if they manage to offload Arthur, Ramsey and Rabiot soon.
