The battle to sign one of the next great Dutch talents could heat up in the coming months as Barcelona are reportedly stepping up their bid to sign Ajax's highly-rated Frenkie de Jong.
Mundo Deportivo are reporting that it will take at least €50m to prize the 21-year-old away from Ajax. Barca are hoping to force a deal through where he signs for the Catalan giants next summer, although they face a stiff competition for a player who is arguably one of the hottest properties in Europe right now as Manchester City, Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain have all been linked with the Dutch starlet.
So, who is Frenkie de Jong?
De Jong signed for Ajax from Willem II in 2015 and he duly broke into the first-team of the Eredivisie giants during the 2016/17 season, picking up the 'Talent Of The Year' award in the process. He has gone on to make 47 appearances for the senior side and is an integral member of their team.
De Jong helped Ajax qualify for this season's Champions League, which has ironically delayed a potential move to Barcelona as Ajax may have been forced to sell for financial reasons during the summer transfer window if they hadn't reached the group stages of Europe's premier competition. Comfortable at centre back, although a defensive midfield role is seen as his best position, the youngster is under contract at Ajax until 2022 but could depart as soon as next summer if Barcelona can force a deal.
Ajax are understandably reluctant to let another of their hottest prospects leave after losing Davinson Sanchez and Justin Kluivert in recent years, although it will be difficult for them to hold on to a player who appears to be going from strength-to-strength.
De Jong made his international debut for the Netherlands on Thursday night and he made an immediate impression when coming on as a second-half substitute against Peru, setting up Memphis Depay for Netherlands' equaliser before the Dutch went on to win 2-1.
His performances have led some pundits to compare him to the legendary German, Franz Beckenbauer, and he will do well to match the career achievements of the former World Cup winner.
For now, his focus is on Eredivisie and Champions League success with Ajax. Barcelona will be hoping to force through a deal that sees De Jong move to the Camp Nou next summer, albeit the rumour mill would suggest that plenty of Europe's other top clubs have similar ambitions.
