Manchester City are reportedly closing in Ajax’s Frenkie de Jong.
According to The Mirror, Tottenham Hotspur have accepted defeat to Manchester City in the race for Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
De Jong, 21, has come up through Ajax’s famed youth academy, and has become one of the top young midfielders in Europe having starred in Amsterdam.
A technically gifted midfielder with great skill, vision and passing range, De Jong has thrived for Ajax, and is already a regular in Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side.
Now one of the most in demand midfielders around, both Barcelona and Tottenham have been interested in signing him – but The Mirror claim both teams have accepted that they won’t be signing De Jong.
Instead, it’s claimed that Manchester City will sign De Jong for around £61million in 2019, but the deal would only go through at the end of the season.
City want an heir to Fernandinho in the base of their midfield, and De Jong fits the bill, but Ajax don’t want to let him go mid-season, meaning a summer move is likely.
Pep Guardiola would therefore score a big win over his former club and a top four rival in Spurs, with Mauricio Pochettino’s search for a midfielder set to go back to the drawing board.
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