Manchester City made a move for Frenkie de Jong, but...

A hidden chapter has just come to light in Manchester City's summer rebuild of their midfield. Before the champions committed nearly €400 million to new arrivals, they explored a completely different path.

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Manchester City made a move for Frenkie de Jong

According to Catalunya Ràdio, as reported by SPORT, the Etihad hierarchy made genuine attempts to sign Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona after learning that Rodri was pushing for an exit. When City reached out to the Catalan side, the answer they received caught them off guard: Barcelona's sporting department, under Deco's leadership, signalled a willingness to talk and made it plain that the Dutchman was not viewed as untouchable.

The whole affair reveals plenty about both clubs. On Barcelona's side, the readiness to part with the man groomed as their captain's successor says a lot about the financial and sporting reset Deco is overseeing — even while Hansi Flick keeps telling anyone who will listen that his bond with De Jong is as strong as ever.

The Dutchman, for his part, damaged his medial collateral ligament at the World Cup, turned down surgery in favour of a conservative approach, and has not kicked a ball this season; he is back in partial training, though, with a first outing now pencilled in for November 1 against Alavés.

As for City, their withdrawal explains why their eventual fix looked so scattered: losing Rodri to Barcelona for roughly €50 million was bad enough, but then watching their first-choice replacement fall through on medical grounds forced them to rebuild an entire engine room at record prices. De Jong, meanwhile, is tied down until 2029 and now faces the fight of his life for minutes, with Rodri, Pedri, Gavi and the fast-rising Marc Bernal all standing in his way.

Hazem Mlhem |

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Hazem Mlhem est un rédacteur sportif expérimenté, animé par une passion pour le football africain.

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