Another name in the mixer
Just when it looked like the Etihad's midfield rebuild was done, a fresh one has surfaced. Frenkie De Jong, the Barcelona midfielder, is the latest to be linked with a move to Manchester City as the summer window rattles towards its close.
It would be a strange one, on the face of it. De Jong is 29, currently injured, and only signed a new deal with Barcelona last October. Then again, strangeness has been the theme of this window.
City have already seen Rodri, Tijani Reijnders and Bernardo Silva depart in a hectic reshaping of the midfield. In have come Elliot Anderson — the club-record signing at £116 million — and Ayyoub Bouaddi, the 18-year-old arriving in a €100 million package deal from Lille. Busy would be an understatement.
The injury complication
De Jong's situation is not straightforward. He picked up an injury while on international duty with the Netherlands at the World Cup, and on 23 July Barcelona confirmed he had suffered a tear of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
The Catalan club said he would undergo conservative treatment rather than surgery, but declined to put a timeframe on his recovery. For a club chasing an immediate fix, that is less than ideal.
What would he bring?
De Jong's pedigree is not in question. He was part of the Ajax generation that reached the Champions League semi-final in 2019, the side that briefly made everyone believe in something. He has since been a fixture at Barcelona, though the last few years have not always been kind to him.
Transfermarkt currently values him at around €35 million, a figure that feels modest for a player of his standing. Whether that reflects his injury, his age, or simply the market's mood is open to debate.
For City, the appeal is obvious enough. A midfielder of De Jong's class, available at a reasonable price, with experience at the highest level. The complications are just as obvious. His fitness, his contract situation, and the fact that Barcelona may not be willing to let him go cheaply despite the valuation.
It is a rumour with plenty of moving parts. Whether it becomes anything more than that before the window slams shut remains to be seen.