Barcelona unconcerned by prospect of Frenkie de Jong departure

Barcelona appear to have made little further progress towards signing a new contract with Frenkie de Jong, despite having intended to seal a deal before this summer. The hold up has been attributed to de Jong’s impending separation from agent Ali Dursun.

Previously it has been reported that de Jong has agreed to a deal in principle with Barcelona, but it seems that although they have the Dutchman’s approval for a deal, no contract has been redacted. De Jong is out of contract next summer, and can sign a contract with any club in just 4.5 months. With de Jong wanting to separate from Dursun, who MD say has a contract with the Dutchman until 2026, he does not want the commission to go to his agent.

Barcelona are keen to hand de Jong a fresh deal until 2028, and recently he confirmed that while it has not been signed, his intention was to renew his deal.  Currently de Jong is one of the top two best-paid players in the Barcelona squad, and the Catalan daily say their plan is to not only bring de Jong’s salary in line with other top earners, but also defer some of his wages.

The Blaugrana are keen to renew de Jong, but will only do so on terms they feel are fair. MD explain that the prospect of a departure does not concern the club, as with Gavi, Marc Bernal and Marc Casado, they are more than covered in his position. Their expectation is that de Jong will accept their terms in the end. It is also intimated that no deal is imminent.

Last season Casado spent the first half of the season as a starter in a deeper role, while Gavi was used there on occasion last season too. It was notable however that Hansi Flick restored de Jong to a starting role in January, almost without question, when the Dutchman got back up to full speed.