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Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich this week but the chances of the midfielder swapping the Camp Nou for the Allianz Arena have been played down.
Sources at the club have insisted there is “less than a 1% chance” of De Jong joining Bayern “in the immediate future,” according to Moises Llorens and Sam Marsden at ESPN.
Bayern were willing to spend €70 million on De Jong last summer but Barcelona refused to enter into negotiations. The European champions “remain interested” in the Netherlands international, but their chances of success are described as “minimal.”
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De Jong Commits Future to Barcelona
News of Bayern’s interest in Bayern is a surprise given the strength of the Bundesliga champions’ squad and the fact that De Jong only made the move to the Camp Nou from Ajax in summer 2019.
The Dutchman has also recently committed his future to the club. De Jong was one of four players to pen an extended contract at Barcelona back in October of this year.
De Jong, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen all agreed new deals that also included “temporary salary adjustments” due to the financial effects of Covid-19 on Barcelona.
The Dutchman’s new contract with the Catalan giants now runs until 2026 and contains a buyout clause set at an eye-watering €400 million.
De Jong Unsatisfied with Barcelona Form
De Jong played a starring role for Ajax before his move to Barcelona. He won a league and cup double in 2018-19 and was also part of coach Erik ten Hag’s exciting young team that made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
The midfielder hasn’t had quite the same impact at Barcelona yet and has spoken on several occasions about his dissatisfaction with his form at the Camp Nou. He told the AFP back in June that he can perform at a much higher level than he has shown.
I have played some games that were good and others that were average or below average even. I had a bad period, I never played really badly I don’t think, but I know I can do a lot better.
Former Barcelona midfielder Ronald de Boer feels that De Jong needs to take more responsibility at Barcelona, as reported by AS.
De Jong has to play in the position of Sergio Busquets . He has to make it very clear to Busquets that he is second and that he is first. He has to assume the leadership of the team.
Barca will be hoping De Jong can go on and fulfill his evident potential at the Camp Nou under a coach he knows well in Ronald Koeman. The pair have worked together previously with the Netherlands national team, finishing as runners-up in the 2018-19 Nations League.
Koeman has overseen a poor start to the season since taking over from Quique Setien, with the team having lost four of their first 10 La Liga games. The Dutchman is now under pressure to turn results and performances around and will need De Jong to play a key role in his team’s midfield.
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‘Less than 1%’ Chance’ Barcelona Star Leaves for Bayern