Pep Guardiola has been served with a huge blow in his pursuit of Frenkie de Jong as De Telegraaf claim the Ajax midfielder has chosen to join Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season.
De Jong has emerged as one of the most sought after prospects in Europe over the last 12 months and was widely expected to join Manchester City in one of the next two transfer windows.
After missing out on top transfer targets Jorginho and Fred in the summer, Guardiola earmarked De Jong as his ideal long-term replacement for Fernandinho.
City were hopeful of pulling off a deal in the region of £40m-£50m for the 21-year-old but Ajax have successfully driven up his price tag following interest from Barcelona and PSG.
Guardiola’s side have already shown in recent transfer windows that they will not be held to ransom and pay over the odds for new players and that stance appears to have cost them De Jong’s signature.
Kylian Mbappe has reportedly played a huge role in De Jong electing to join PSG, who will match Ajax’s €75m (£66.9m) valuation next summer if they are given the green light to spend money.
PSG’s pursuit of De Jong would all but confirm Adrien Rabiot’s time at the club is over and he will leave the Ligue 1 giants when his contract expires at the end of the season, most likely to join Barcelona on a free transfer.
Of players that have attempted at least 25 dribbles in Eredivisie since the start of last season, De Jong has the best success rate (91%).
