The story around Barcelona this summer might be the possible departure of Frenkie de Jong. He had a poor season but is still young and could be worth a ton of money. Money is exactly what Barcelona needs at this point in time, so it just seems logical to happen. They also have youngsters to fill his place, so it is a huge possibility for the upcoming transfer window. There are a lot of clubs interested in the Dutchman, so let's look at the three best destinations for Frenkie de Jong in the summer transfer window.
Best Frenkie de Jong destinations
Starting with an obvious one, Manchester United need a midfielder badly. Now that Nemanja Matic is gone and Paul Pogba is out of contract, their midfield is mostly reliant on Scott McTominay, Fred, Bruno Fernandes, and possibly Donny van der Beek, if they actually play him next season. Out of these players, only Bruno is really starting quality, especially for a club like Manchester United that has title aspirations.
Thus, the logical target is possibly the best young midfielder available on the market. This club has spent a ton of money in the past, but this could actually be a financially sound move. Frenkie de Jong is reportedly going to be available for around €80 million, which is a bargain for his talent.
A lot of the issues that Manchester United had this season were connected to their inability to link-up play. Bruno Fernandes is likely their most creative player, and due to his positioning high up the pitch, the task of forwarding the ball was usually left to their center backs. Now, if Harry Maguire is tasked with bringing the ball up, something is very wrong.
If they get Frenkie de Jong, Manchester United could utilize his ability to slide between the center backs and take the ball, progressing it further. He is fairly tall and very strong, despite his weaker-looking stature, so he would have no issues with the physicality of the English game. De Jong would be the ideal Manchester United signing this summer.
Despite the fact that they are likely getting Pogba from Manchester United, Juventus still sorely need a creative midfielder. This club has done an okay job of getting rid of Rodrigo Bentancur and Aaron Ramsey, but their solutions in terms of creativity in the middle have been lacking.
Now, they are also losing Paulo Dybala, who was injured a ton, but added a creative spark to the midfield when he was available. Pogba is a good signing, but he is not a purely creative midfielder. Frenkie De Jong is and would be ideal for Juventus and what they want to do next season.
As signings go, Juventus have done well with both Denis Zakaria and Manuel Locatelli, but they are midfielders for stability. De Jong would also bring stability, but he would bring a link between the defensive midfielders and center backs, and Dusan Vlahovic up top. That job was mostly done by Juan Cuadrado the last couple of seasons, but he was severely limited by his defensive duties and position on the right.
With de Jong, Juventus would have a great option in the middle who could directly pass towards the final third, where Vlahovic can finish the chances that he is given. At €80 million, which is the reported price, Juventus getting de Jong would be a great deal.
If PSG want to win the Champions League, just re-signing Kylian Mbappe is not going to cut it. It is a good move, of course, as Mbappe had the best season out of the famous front three of himself, Neymar, and Lionel Messi.
However, their issues stem from a lack of talent in other areas of the pitch. One of these areas is the midfield. There, PSG have a lot of destructive midfielders, like Idrissa Gueye or Danilo Pereira, but rely on Messi and Neymar to drop deep and create for themselves and their teammates. The situation will be even worse now that Angel Di Maria is out of contract and will leave the club. That is where the purchase of Frenkie de Jong comes in.
He would be able to slide into the middle and move the ball from Marquinhos, all the way to the final third. Messi and Neymar would then have a lot more time to find chances for themselves and possibly to create even more, without thinking about building the attack all by themselves. De Jong is perfect for ball carrying, as mentioned above, and he generally covers tons of space with the ball in a very short time.
Additionally, he spent two years playing with Lionel Messi already and it would be great to see the pairing together again. It is really a no-brainer for PSG, especially if they want to build a young squad, to get Frenkie de Jong if he is available this summer.
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