Barcelona gazump Paris Saint-Germain for De Jong

 

Barcelona have stunningly won the race to sign Ajax starlet Frenkie de Jong ahead of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, claims De Telegraaf.

 

De Jong has emerged as one of the most sought after young talents in Europe this season and will leave Ajax at the end of the season.

 

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola started the season with De Jong in mind as a January target but has reluctantly pulled out of the race due to his escalating valuation.

 

Despite a desire to work with Guardiola, De Jong looked certain to link up with PSG at the end of the season but Barcelona have succeeded with a stunning late intervention.

 

The Spanish champions sent a delegation to Amsterdam over the weekend in order to convince De Jong to pick them and it has worked, with Barcelona reportedly agreeing to pay €90m for the 21-year-old.

 

Barcelona gazump Paris Saint-Germain for De Jong

 

 

PSG thought they had won the race to sign De Jong with an offer of €75m (£65.5m) but are unwilling to match Barcelona’s. bid

 

It is another huge blow for PSG, who are desperate to overhaul their midfield options over the next two transfer windows, with Adrien Rabiot and Lass Diarra set to leave at the end of the season.

 

De Jong averages more passes per game than any other player in the Eredivisie this season, while also boasting an impressive 92.2% pass success rate.