Bundesliga giant Bayern Munich has reached out to FC Barcelona with a view to possibly signing its midfielder Frenkie de Jong according to Relevo and its transfer market expert Matteo Moretto, who cited anonymous sources.
The Bavarians won 11 German national championships in a row but have recently ceded their crown to Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen.
Boasting a squad that is in need of a facelift, the Bayern board will reportedly allocate $160 million (€150 million) for signings to its next head coach.
With Alonso renewing his contract at Bayer, and Julian Nagelsmann doing likewise with the German national team, that looks set to be Zinedine Zidane according to Mundo Deportivo.
On Friday, the newspaper reported that the Real Madrid legend has agreed to succeed Thomas Tuchel at the Allianz Arena when he steps down on June 30.
Anonymous sources said all is missing is Zidane’s signature, and that the Frenchman has already requested squad improvements with a particular focus on the defence.
Whether Zidane also wants De Jong is unclear, after Tuchel inquired about Barca center back Ronald Araujo earlier this year again according to Mundo Deportivo.
This wouldn’t be the first time that Bayern has asked the Blaugrana about De Jong’s availability, but with president Joan Laporta needing to raise $106.6 million (€100 million) to balance the books before June 30, his sale could come in handy.
Relevo says that Barca knows it could get something between $65-75 million (€60-70 million) easily for De Jong, and the first team squad is well-staffed in midfield with the likes of Pedri, Gavi and Ilkay Gundogan to name but a few stars.
A cash-strapped outfit could do without paying De Jong’s hefty salary, which will rise to $19.2 million (€18 million) next term thanks to previous pay he deferred during the pandemic under Laporta’s predecessor Josep Bartomeu.
Barca has been open to selling its 2019 signing from Ajax in the past, and in July 2022 accepted an $90 million (€85 million) bid for him from Manchester United according to The Athletic.
Whether the club will show the same willingness two years on remains to be seen.
But one thing for certain is that De Jong has come under criticism for his performance in this week’s Champions League quarterfinals KO to PSG leaving many fans prepared to wave goodbye to the Dutchman.