Manchester City have yet to make a signing this summer as Pep Guardiola plots how he can get his team firing on all fronts in a bid to reclaim the Champions League trophy they won in 2023.
While winning a fourth successive Premier League crown – making history in the process – is a wonderful achievement, it is not enough to satiate the City faithful.
Could they be about to deliver another blow to Manchester United, but this time in the transfer market as opposed to on the pitch?
Manchester City eye up swoop for Barcelona star
According to reports in Spain (via Football365), Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong ‘wants to join’ Man City this summer.
It is no secret that Erik ten Hag is a keen admirer of the Dutchman, with reports from Spain (again via Football365) that the manager was lining up a swoop to bring both him and Matthijs de Ligt to Old Trafford during the transfer window in a bid to bolster his squad.
It looks as though City may now have the upper hand as they eye a swoop for the 5 foot 11 maestro, especially with Champions League football on offer at the Etihad, before the end of the window.
Player
Club joined from
Josko Gvardiol
RB Leipzig
Matheus Nunes
Wolves
Jeremy Doku
Stade Rennais
Mateo Kovacic
Chelsea
Via Transfermarkt
De Jong would be an excellent signing for the Premier League champions and could emerge as Guardiola’s own version of Arsenal star Declan Rice.
How Frenkie De Jong compares to Declan Rice
The current Arsenal sensation has gone from strength to strength since making the move from West Ham United to the Gunners last summer.
He finished last season with a 91% pass success rate while ranking first in their squad for tackles per game (2.2) and signing someone with similar sort of qualities could allow Guardiola to strengthen his midfield.
The Englishman is currently the tenth-most comparable player to the Barcelona gem via FBref and last season, they registered similar statistics with regard to shot-creating actions (3.3 vs 2.79), percentage of challenges won (42.1% vs 56.1%), successful take-on percentage (54.2% vs 45.7%) and aerial duel percentage (57.5% vs 47.6%), demonstrating how close they are across several attacking and defensive metrics for their respective clubs.
De Jong was hailed by his former manager at Barcelona, Xavi, in 2023, saying: “Frenkie de Jong is one of the best midfielders in the world right now.
“He’s at spectacular level, he’s playing at incredible level — he gives us a lot, I’m so happy with Frenkie.”
A year later, the 27-year-old currently ranks in the top 5% when compared to his positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues for pass success rate (91.9%), progressive passes (8.70), and progressive carries (3.24) per 90, showing exactly what he could bring to a City team who love controlling and dictating games under Guardiola.
Much will depend on the fee Barcelona expects to receive for one of their prized assets, especially considering he still has two years remaining on his current contract at the Catalan giants.
Should he really want to move to Manchester, then the manager must go all out and bring him to England this summer to land his own Rice in the middle of the park to play alongside the likes of Rodri, Kevin de Bruyne, and Bernardo Silva across all competitions in the 2024/25 campaign.