Barcelona May Sell $85M Star Midfielder Wanted By Bayern Munich: Report

FC Barcelona could be forced to sell talented midfielder Frenkie de Jong next summer as the La Liga giants are staring at critical financial issues infused by the coronavirus pandemic. If the Catalans indeed go ahead with it, Bayern Munich are waiting to acquire the services of de Jong.

Bayern Munich have been in talks with Ali Durson, De Jong's agent, to keep him updated that if there are any chances of negotiating a deal over the Netherlands national, the club is willing to do so, reported Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo.

Barcelona offered new contracts to four players earlier this season and De Jong was one of them. The other three were Gerard Piqué, Clement Lenglet and Marc-Andre ter Stegen. The new deal meant the players will be committed to Barcelona until 2026. Moreover, the club has also convinced the players to accept a massive pay cut in order to deal with the financial crisis.

It is understood that even if Lionel Messi were to leave the club next summer, the financial crisis still would remain intact. Among the Camp Nou players, there are a bunch that may attract a big fee on the transfer market, including Anu Fati, Ter Stegen, Griezmann and De Jong, apart from Messi. The Blaugrana could be forced to sell one of those players for financial reasons, and that decision will be made by the club's new president after the election early next year, according to soccer website Goal.

When De Jong was at Ajax, Bayern Munich tried to sign the young midfielder in 2018 along with his teammate Matthijs de Ligt. Mundo Deportivo reported that Bayern Munich were ready to invest $181 million for the duo before De Ligt and De Jong left the Amsterdam club for a slightly higher aggregate price.

It is believed that Bayern's sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic remains a fan of De Jong, who dumped Bayern to make an $85 million transfer to Barcelona in the summer of 2019. Even after De Jong's move to Barcelona, Salihamidzic has remained in touch with the Dutch midfielder's agent.

Ahead of the 2021 summer, it is understood that Bayern are set to prioritize a midfield signing over a forward and De Jong is certainly on their radar, apart from their other top targets for the midfield, including Rennes' Eduardo Camavinga and Borussia Monchengladbach's Florian Neuhaus.

The 23-year-old has made 57 competitive appearances for Barcelona since his arrival at Camp Nou from Ajax in 2019. Having played 15 matches in the ongoing season, De Jong is yet to score.