Manchester City are reportedly open to discussing a swap deal with Barcelona for Frenkie de Jong, with Aymeric Laporte potentially moving in the opposite direction to Camp Nou.
De Jong’s future has been called into question, with a number of Premier League clubs, including Manchester United and Liverpool, said to be interested in his signature.
The Spanish powerhouse are understood to have paid around £77m to bring the midfielder to the Camp Nou on the back of a starring campaign, in which he helped Ajax reach the semi-final of the Champions League.
Since his move to Catalonia, though, De Jong has struggled to showcase the abilities that made him such a desirable asset for Barcelona in the first place.
Not all of the blame can be put on De Jong for this, though, with Barcelona as a club experiencing something of a crisis, with La Blaugrana now on their 3rd permanent manager since De Jong joined the club.
Meanwhile, Barcelona continue to be strongly linked with Laporte but are unlikely to be able to afford an outright deal for Laporte given their financial crisis and while paying their £55million fee for Torres in staggered payments.
According to Catalan outlet El Nacional, Manchester City would only allow Aymeric Laporte to leave in exchange for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong. Pep Guardiola is a big admirer of the Dutch midfielder.
Including De Jong in a potential swap deal could tempt City into doing business with them for a second time this month, yet the player himself may not be open to the move.
It is believed De Jong is not looking to leave Barca anytime soon despite widespread speculation surrounding his future, with another five-and-a-half years still to run on his current contract.
A wise move by the club?
Laporte, 27, has become a key member of Pep Guardiola’s backline again this season after falling out of favour in the previous campaign.
The Spaniard has built a rock-solid partnership with Ruben Dias at the back, helping the Sky Blues to top the Premier League standings.
However, Considering the club’s deep pockets, even if Laporte leaves, Guardiola will have Ruben Dias, John Stones and Nathan Ake as options at centre-back.
On the flipside, by letting Laporte join Barcelona in exchange for De Jong, the Sky Blues could potentially improve their midfield options.
With Fernandinho is in the twilight of his career and could be on his way out of the club next summer, he could be prudent for City to sign him as a long-term replacement.
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