KEY POINTS

  • Frenkie de Jong is contracted with Barcelona until 2026
  • He is into his fourth season at Camp Nou
  • The likes of Man Utd, Chelsea and Bayern Munich are chasing De Jong

Bayern Munich have reportedly joined Manchester United in the race to sign FC Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

De Jong, who has not agreed to personal terms with Manchester United as yet despite the latter's repeated insistence, has a contract with Barcelona until 2026.

Bayern Munich want to bolster its midfield by signing De Jong on a season-long loan, as they had done with Philipe Coutinho from Barcelona in the past, reported Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo. The deal will include a direct option to purchase at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

While Coutinho had a successful loan stint at Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga champions had decided against signing the Brazilian forward on a permanent basis. Coutinho later returned to Barcelona. The Catalans struggled to offload him, mainly because of his high wages, before eventually selling him to Premier League club Aston Villa.

De Jong was featured in Barcelona's both games this season but started only one. Barcelona have rejected Bayern Munich's loan move for the Dutch midfielder, according to Marca.com.

Frenkie de Jong, Barcelona
Frenkie de Jong waves to the crowd during an FC Barcelona training session at Accor Stadium on May 24, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

The Catalans recently registered their summer signings Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie. They also managed to register Sergi Roberto and Ousmane Dembele, who extended their contracts at the end of the last term.

But Barcelona have so far failed to register center-back Jules Kounde, whom they signed from Sevilla this summer. Therefore, Barcelona are looking only to sell De Jong permanently as it would fetch them not only a big sum but also remove the player's huge wages from their salary bracket.

It is believed that there's a clause in Kounde's contract that will allow him to leave the club for free after terminating his deal if Barcelona fail to register him before Aug. 31.

Barcelona had defeated Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to secure De Jong from Ajax in the summer of 2019 for $75 million. Across three seasons, De Jong made 140 competitive appearances. He scored 13 goals and provided 17 assists.

De Jong is now into his fourth season at Camp Nou. It was earlier reported that while the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea have shown interest in De Jong, the former Ajax midfielder has refused to join either of the Premier League club.