Frenkie de Jong's move from Barcelona to Chelsea is expected to 'heat up' this week as Joan Laporta fails in new contract talks as £68million transfer plan set to be followed to an extent by the La Liga giants.
The situation surrounding Barca and De Jong has got very messy in the last few days. The Athletic revealed that a previous contract extension agreement with the old Barcelona board has been found to have an element of 'criminality' to it. This in essence means that the club are set to stand firm on the deferred wages that De Jong has not yet received and could yet take this matter to court to settle this once and for all if the midfielder doesn't either move out or settle on a reduced salary, just like Gerard Pique has once more done.
Despite the current President's words that his side are able to register the new signings for the imminent 2022/23 La Liga, the understanding on this currently is that isn't the case. Alongside activating a fourth economic lever, It is believed that Barca will need to make some big money sales and De Jong and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's potential switches to Chelsea increase with this sentiment alone.
READ MORE: Frenkie de Jong passes latest Chelsea audition as Todd Boehly battles Man Utd for £70m transfer
Not only is it key for the Dutch international to move on to register new players, but without a sale of Barca's number 21, a big money move for Bernardo Silva will not be able to be processed.
It is understood that Chelsea are at the front of the queue should the player decide enough is enough in this situation and Todd Boehly doesn't face much competition currently with Man United switching attentions to Adrien Rabiot.
The dream for Laporta was to get De Jong to agree to a lower wage contract whilst also making a £68million proposal to City for Silva but this doesn't look forthcoming and as a result, Spanish Journalist Gerard Romero has claimed that things will heat up this week in relation to De Jong's move away to Chelsea.
His latest report clarified that ever since the Barca US tour, the player himself knows his exit is imminent and according to Romero himself, the Blues is 'very close' to landing the £70m purchase of the former Ajax prodigy.
Chelsea fans - Is Frenkie De Jong really needed for this season and who will he replace in the starting line-up? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
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