According to a report from Raphael Honigstein of The Athletic, Bayern Munich has FC Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong on its shortlist of midfield candidates for the summer transfer window.
The Bavarians have been most heavily linked to West Ham defensive midfielder Declan Rice, but multiple reports in recent days have indicated that the 24-year-old is hesitant to leave England and the Premier League. Arsenal FC, Chelsea FC, and Manchester United have all emerged as bigger contenders for Rice, with some reports even indicating that Manchester City could get into the bidding.
Perhaps, it was that recent news which has prompted Bayern Munich to take newfound interest in an old target — De Jong. Twitter account @iMiaSanMia captured what Honigstein had to say about Bayern Munich’s interest in the Dutchman.
Interestingly, Bayern Munich seems focused on not blowing out its transfer budget to get one specific player in the midfield or for the attack that could risk hurting the club’s financial standing or ability to land multiple players during this transfer window.
Instead, Bayern Munich appears to want to take a measured approach focused on filling multiple perceived positional voids:
Bayern are interested in West Ham’s Declan Rice and Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong, but firm moves for either are contingent on not exhausting their overall budget and other players leaving.
There could be some thought that Barca is seeking to clear as much room in its budget as necessary in order to try and lure Lionel Messi back to Catalonia, but those matters are extremely complicated.
At this point, it is unclear if FC Barcelona has any interest in selling De Jong or if the player is ready to leave the club, but it could be fascinating to see how a failure to land Rice, De Jong, or another impact midfielder might be perceived by Bayern Munich fans.
