Manchester City appear to be missing out on Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
According to The Mirror, Pep Guardiola has been left ‘angry and frustrated’ after Manchester City decided to back away from a deal for Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
De Jong, 21, has become one of the top young midfielders in Europe during his time with Ajax, having arrived from Willem II in 2015.
The Dutchman is technically-gifted holding midfielder who can dictate play at such a young age, and City boss Guardiola is unsurprisingly attracted to his attributes.
The Mirror now report that Guardiola held a secret three-and-a-half-hour meeting with De Jong in London last month, and a £67million deal was heading towards completion in Guardiola’s mind.
However, it’s claimed that whilst City were scheduled to fly out to Amsterdam in Netherlands, they decided to put the deal on ice and backed away 24 hours before they were supposed to head out.
The big problem is that City’s dallying has now allowed Paris Saint-Germain to swoop in, and the French club are now leading the race to sign De Jong ahead of City in 2019.
There’s one suggestion that City’s spending power has taken a small hit over Financial Fair Play accusations, and it remains to be seen whether they can salvage Guardiola’s deal to sign the perfect heir to Fernandinho.
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