Xavi drops De Jong exit hint as Man Utd and Chelsea circle
Robin Bairner
- 1 Aug 2022 02:58 CDT
- 3 min read
Frenkie de Jong’s Barcelona has not been guaranteed by Xavi, who has suggested that a transfer to Manchester United or Chelsea remains a possibility before the end of the summer window.
Netherlands international midfielder De Jong has been linked with a switch to Old Trafford throughout the summer, but Man Utd’s inability to persuade the player to join the club has opened the door for Chelsea to make a late hijack attempt for the player.
Meanwhile, Barcelona ideally want to keep him on their books – but they also want him to accept a massive pay cut, which he has been hesitant to do.
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As such, De Jong’s future is entirely unclear and Xavi has only fuelled speculation that he could be on his way out of the club.
“I don't know if he's going to stay,” Xavi admitted to the media. “There's still time and a lot of things can still happen. At the moment he's part of the team, like everyone else.”
Why De Jong was used as a centre-back
Meanwhile, the coach denied that using De Jong as a centre-back in successive games is a ploy to push him away from Barcelona.
“The fact that he played as a central defender in the other games was not a sign that he is leaving. I don't need to send signals on the pitch - I can speak directly with my footballers,” he said before revealing why De Jong was back in midfield for the 2-0 win over New York Red Bulls at the weekend.
“In this game I conducted many tests and one of them was to see Nico as a central defender - that's why Frenkie has played in midfield.”
Barcelona play one final warm up match against Pumas next Sunday before their La Liga campaign begins at Camp Nou against Rayo Vallecano on 13 August – but it is not yet clear if De Jong will still be with them at that stage.
