Frenkie de Jong | The last muppeting lap

[OrcaFat]

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Looks easy. I’ll try it.

“It is known that De Jong has no desire to leave Barcelona and his Fiancé is settled there. It has been clear for some time he has no interest in joining MUFC and Chelsea is thought to be preferred due to being in London. If he leaves Barcelona, the lure of champions league football makes Chelsea clear favourites. De Jong’s stance remains he will NOT join MUFC. He prefers to stay at Barca and will not discuss a move. Barca remain confident of registering all their players including De Jong but he must accept a pay cut.”

All the above just made up by me. All sounds plausible doesn’t it?

 

[Gums]

I feel a bit like the anti-muppet saying this but it’ll be good for us however this plays out. If he doesn’t come, he’s not the right guy. If he goes to Chelsea, he’s not the right guy. If he comes, excellent. Either way, this saga will come to a definite end.

Also, there are other fish in the sea.

 

[Alemar]

All the above just made up by me. All sounds plausible doesn’t it?

You were born for sports journalism

 

[Mmm-Qatarian]

Because Barcelona want him out, and if he truly wanted out of Barcelona he would have forced the move to United and made them sort out the money they owe him.

Yes, because 17 million is a famously easy amount of money to just make your employer sort out.

 

[FreakyJim]

It’s only August the 2nd.

 

[sewey89]

If he joins Chelsea, mental gymnastics here, from all posters whom are convinced he’s coming here, are going to be a sight to behold.

 

[Bestietom]

I just wish all of this would be over. I really think at this stage we should move on and leave him there. We could sign Ruiz and Sangare for the money we pay for his transfer and the wages we intend to pay him. It's ridiculous at this stage now with only days to go to start of season.

 

[Compton22]

Looks easy. I’ll try it.

“It is known that De Jong has no desire to leave Barcelona and his Fiancé is settled there. It has been clear for some time he has no interest in joining MUFC and Chelsea is thought to be preferred due to being in London. If he leaves Barcelona, the lure of champions league football makes Chelsea clear favourites. De Jong’s stance remains he will NOT join MUFC. He prefers to stay at Barca and will not discuss a move. Barca remain confident of registering all their players including De Jong but he must accept a pay cut.”

All the above just made up by me. All sounds plausible doesn’t it?

It's over

 

[crossy1686]

In terms of wages or to Barca?

To Barcelona. The Athletic have said there’s plenty of interest in De Jong from other clubs but at £50m, not the £75m United are offering.

 

[DickDastardly]

feck you Chelsea

Fecka you dolphins!

Feck-a you whales!

 

[Irrational.]

Have Chelsea won a battle yet in this window?

They don’t have a clue what they are doing. They probably will bid for him but only if we fail to secure him. So I wouldn’t worry.

Their approach reminds me of ours over the years. Complete scattergun approach, strengthening in areas where they’re already strong and stockpiling players and throwing youth to the side for the latest shiny toy.

 

[crossy1686]

They spunked 100m on Lukaku and pay a guy like Werner close to £300k/w. If they want, they will

Under previous owners they did

 

[OrcaFat]

You were born for sports journalism

It's over

 

[crossy1686]

Yes, because 17 million is a famously easy amount of money to just make your employer sort out.

Barcelona have it, just look at their transfer activity

 

[hellhunter]

Under previous owners they did

Yeah but their new guy seems very intent to make a statement signing and lacks experience in the role he performs. So while it wouldn't make a lot of sense for them, you can't really rule it out. Like United under Woodward splashing the cash for a big name signing no one needed

 

[Cypriot]

Isn’t the wage issue on Barcas end and not De Jong? One point I never see brought up is that his deferred wage is now his real wage. That trick Barca pulled works both ways. We may try to separate the two but, somehow, De Jong is now a player that is on around 500K a week. Of course he wont move for anything significantly less, why would he? It’s not a deferred wage problem imo, it’s never been about that.
It’s almost the exact same problem we have with the likes of Martial.

To be fair I've always wondered why he couldn't move and then take legal action to recover the funds he feel are owed. However, didn't Ornstein at the BBC & the other extremely reliable journalists all state that we agreed a deal with Barca but the deferred wage issue remains unsolved. I may be wrong, but I believe this is what all of the most reliable sources have been reporting for a while now, and the silence on Frenkie's end is deafening in my opinion.

I hope it's resolved soon, and I know it's been said hundreds of times, but I truly believe we wouldn't be 13 weeks deep into this 'negotiation' without some assurances from the players' end.

 

[Summit]

To Barcelona. The Athletic have said there’s plenty of interest in De Jong from other clubs but at £50m, not the £75m United are offering.

Chelsea know what price barca accepted from United. If they are now showing interest I think it's safe to say they know what it'll cost them.

 

[Redcy]

I just wish all of this would be over. I really think at this stage we should move on and leave him there. We could sign Ruiz and Sangare for the money we pay for his transfer and the wages we intend to pay him. It's ridiculous at this stage now with only days to go to start of season.

If you think getting ruiz will be easy, you might have a rude awakening tbh. Napoli innit, even with a short contract, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear him sign a new one soon, don’t think he has any desire to leave Napoli when you read what he has said before.

 

[Jeppers7]

I'd rather not even sign anyone than pay that debt. Although I'd rather we find an alternative than not sign anyone. Wouldn't that be similar to the Pogba transfer where we ended up caving and paying Raiola some ridiculous jumbo fee separate of the negotiated fee?

Club should ignore fans saying to pay the debt. They'll be the ones dissing the club for constantly getting ripped off in less than 12 months.

We never did that. Riola had a percentage clause for any sell on fee written into the contract, but we didn’t pay it. We paid juve £89 mill for Pogba and Juve paid the sell on to Riola.

 

[Redcy]

To be fair I've always wondered why he couldn't move and then take legal action to recover the funds he feel are owed. However, didn't Ornstein at the BBC & the other extremely reliable journalists all state that we agreed a deal with Barca but the deferred wage issue remains unsolved. I may be wrong, but I believe this is what all of the most reliable sources have been reporting for a while now, and the silence on Frenkie's end is deafening in my opinion.

I hope it's resolved soon, and I know it's been said hundreds of times, but I truly believe we wouldn't be 13 weeks deep into this 'negotiation' without some assurances from the players' end.

Because it appears legally he isn’t owed anything. He signed a new contract where he legally is owed nothing yet.

 

[Bestietom]

If you think getting ruiz will be easy, you might have a rude awakening tbh. Napoli innit, even with a short contract, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear him sign a new one soon, don’t think he has any desire to leave Napoli when you read what he has said before.

We will have to see about that one, mate. Think we have already spoken to his agent.

 

[crossy1686]

Chelsea know what price barca accepted from United. If they are now showing interest I think it's safe to say they know what it'll cost them.

Yep, that’s true but we’ll see how much they want him I guess

 

[Brownie85]

Yep, that’s true but we’ll see how much they want him I guess

My guess... they really don't. Where would they fit him in an already packed midfield? It makes absolutely no sense at all.

Has any Chelsea journos reported their interest? With all that's been said, you'd think one of them would have chipped in with something

 

[OrcaFat]

Chelsea know what price barca accepted from United. If they are now showing interest I think it's safe to say they know what it'll cost them.

Yeah. If they are even interested at all. (Doh! they must be because Tuchel is “an admirer”)

And, if it’s common knowledge that nobody else will pay over £50m, why don’t we just bid £51m? I mean, Barca have to sell him don’t they? Or do they? There’s so much made up shit around this, nobody knows what’s going on.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

Chelsea are zero threat. Relax!

 

[Brownie85]

Looks easy. I’ll try it.

“It is known that De Jong has no desire to leave Barcelona and his Fiancé is settled there. It has been clear for some time he has no interest in joining MUFC and Chelsea is thought to be preferred due to being in London. If he leaves Barcelona, the lure of champions league football makes Chelsea clear favourites. De Jong’s stance remains he will NOT join MUFC. He prefers to stay at Barca and will not discuss a move. Barca remain confident of registering all their players including De Jong but he must accept a pay cut.”

All the above just made up by me. All sounds plausible doesn’t it?

Yup it really is that easy when you've got no quotes or anything to work with.

Again it just seems like another opinion piece. Does the Athletic name give it pure credibility? They could print anything and because of the name people will likely believe it

 

[Ish]

Kom huis toe, Frenkie

Believe muppets!

 

[crossy1686]

My guess... they really don't. Where would they fit him in an already packed midfield? It makes absolutely no sense at all.

Has any Chelsea journos reported their interest? With all that's been said, you'd think one of them would have chipped in with something

As much as I agree, that didn’t stop them getting Saul in on loan last season

 

[OrcaFat]

Yup it really is that easy when you've got no quotes or anything to work with.

Again it just seems like another opinion piece. Does the Athletic name give it pure credibility? They could print anything and because of the name people will likely believe it

Yeah. Part of the problem is people like Mitten (who I like) keep getting asked about it and because they don’t know what’s going on they speculate and come out with stuff that sounds like it could be true and can’t be disproved.

 

[Alemar]

Chelsea know what price barca accepted from United. If they are now showing interest I think it's safe to say they know what it'll cost them.

Why would they want to deal with Barca at Barca’s price now when they have lost Kounde to them? Weren’t Chelsea hierarchy somewhat pissed with Laporta lately?

 

[Mr Pigeon]

BREAKING NEWS - SKY SP0RTS

Chelsea target Mikky has agreed a move to London, after retiring from hockey and Instagram, in order to open a Blue Butterfly shop. The Dutch ace, wildly regarding by footballing experts on RedCafe as "proper fit", has been the focus of this summer's transfer rumours for several clubs. But Sky Sp0rts can now confirm that the sun and indie-pap of London has gained preference over the rain and shoegazer of Manchester.

"Yeehah!" Cried out Chelsea owner Todd Boehly, as he fired his six shooter at some nearby pigeons. "Them gals gonna sell them blue butterflies!" As part of the deal her partner Frenkie de Jong will join Chelsea as a midfielder or something.

Eric Ten Hag of United was angered by the news. "They feck us. They don't believe in the process and now we're fecked. Because RedCafe feck the deal up once again because they lose faith. Mikky check online. United fans not believe. She think feck it, might as well go to London instead. Sell blue butterflies. Now we have nobody to sell red butterflies. So feck RedCafe. Bellends."

 

[Brownie85]

Yeah. Part of the problem is people like Mitten (who I like) keep getting asked about it and because they don’t know what’s going on they speculate and come out with stuff that sounds like it could be true and can’t be disproved.

Journos can write anything to be honest, then it can be read as being fact when in reality it isn't. It's the language and choice of words they use.

Such as "It is believed" or "impressions are". It's them giving their opinion but stating it in such a way that it's a widely accepted opinion or it's what the general feeling is. Pretty much like opinion pased off as fact. We're all guilty of it, except when we do it here, theres not really much of an impact, except a few muppets that get pissed off. When journos do it, well...

 

[Greck]

We never did that. Riola had a percentage clause for any sell on fee written into the contract, but we didn’t pay it. We paid juve £89 mill for Pogba and Juve paid the sell on to Riola.

If I'm not mistaking there was a back and forth about who had to pay it between we and Juve. How was it resolved? Are you sure we didn't pay it? I thought we did.

 

[Brownie85]

BREAKING NEWS - SKY SP0RTS

Chelsea target Mikky has agreed a move to London, after retiring from hockey and Instagram, in order to open a Blue Butterfly shop. The Dutch ace, wildly regarding by footballing experts on RedCafe as "proper fit", has been the focus of this summer's transfer rumours for several clubs. But Sky Sp0rts can now confirm that the sun and indie-pap of London has gained preference over the rain and shoegazer of Manchester.

"Yeehah!" Cried out Chelsea owner Todd Boehly, as he fired his six shooter at some nearby pigeons. "Them gals gonna sell them blue butterflies!" As part of the deal her partner Frenkie de Jong will join Chelsea as a midfielder or something.

Eric Ten Hag of United was angered by the news. "They feck us. They don't believe in the process and now we're fecked. Because RedCafe feck the deal up once again because they lose faith. Mikky check online. United fans not believe. She think feck it, might as well go to London instead. Sell blue butterflies. Now we have nobody to sell red butterflies. So feck RedCafe. Bellends."

Love it!

 

[mctrials23]

Situation hasn't really changed in weeks.

Barca want to sell Frenkie
Frenkie wants his money
Barca don't want to give Frenkie as much money as Frenkie wants in order to leave
*insert pointless stuff about levers & Chelsea*

Barca probably have enough to keep Frenkie now but why would they. It would just exacerbate their very precarious financial position. If they don't start winning things next year they are in trouble. The £150m-ish they would save from the wages/sale of Frenkie would be quite useful to them. They fundamentally don't need him and shunting him to CB doesn't make any sense.

 

[Donut]

You just know Mikky would much prefer London to Manchester. As would most people to be fair.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Eric Ten Hag of United was angered by the news. "They feck us. They don't believe in the process and now we're fecked. Because RedCafe feck the deal up once again because they lose faith. Mikky check online. United fans not believe. She think feck it, might as well go to London instead. Sell blue butterflies. Now we have nobody to sell red butterflies. So feck RedCafe. Bellends."

Damn doomers

 

[Mmm-Qatarian]

My guess... they really don't. Where would they fit him in an already packed midfield? It makes absolutely no sense at all.

Has any Chelsea journos reported their interest? With all that's been said, you'd think one of them would have chipped in with something

The Athletic journalist who mentioned that Chelsea are interested is a reputable journalist for Chelsea. I think it's safe to say there's definitely interest from their side.

My opinion on what is most likely the state of play is the following:

• Barcelona are pretty desperate to get rid of De Jong as they want to sell Bernardo Silva.
• United are also pretty desperate to sign De Jong, given that he plays in a position we need to strengthen and is a key target for Erik ten Hag.
• De Jong's preference is to stay at Barca but he won't accept the pay cut they're offering. If he's offered the salary he agreed to defer by Barcelona, he will probably agree to leave the club.
• If he does leave, De Jong would prefer to join a team currently in the Champions League.
• Chelsea are interested in the player, but are unlikely to want to pay as much as we will and won't offer the wages we're offering either. Bayern aren't interested at the price/wage it would take to get him.

At present, my guess would be that Chelsea will only make a concrete offer if United pull out. As I said, I don't think they will want to go as high as the 85 million we've put on the table. Chelsea are interested in Cucurella (who will probably cost them at least 40 million) and another centre back (which I think will set them back at least 50 million). Using The Athletic article's logic, if Chelsea were interested enough in De Jong to match our offer then surely they would've done so by now.

My view is that the transfer will all come down to whether or not De Jong values the higher wages on offer at United more than the extra season of guaranteed Champions League football he'd get next season at Chelsea. I'm still fairly optimistic at this point because we've heard nothing on our side about pulling out and I think De Jong's agent will push him to take the higher wages but I'm equally not going to rule out the possibility that Champions League football really is that big a sticking point.

 

[VP89]

Looks easy. I’ll try it.

“It is known that De Jong has no desire to leave Barcelona and his Fiancé is settled there. It has been clear for some time he has no interest in joining MUFC and Chelsea is thought to be preferred due to being in London. If he leaves Barcelona, the lure of champions league football makes Chelsea clear favourites. De Jong’s stance remains he will NOT join MUFC. He prefers to stay at Barca and will not discuss a move. Barca remain confident of registering all their players including De Jong but he must accept a pay cut.”

All the above just made up by me. All sounds plausible doesn’t it?

They are saying Chelsea are interested in De Jong. That is based on their own sources.

I totally get that 99% of the journalist rubbish is rubbish. But that 1% of credibility is reserved for Athletic and BBC equivalents. You can't just claim they are making things up because you don't like what you read.

 

[RkkMan]

Go back a few pages and you'll see an interview with Laporte that says you're wrong. It seems he and the new Chelsea owner, Boehly had dinner and have a good relationship. I'd be absolutely amazed if FDJ didn't get discussed or Laporte didn't at least float the idea. We know Tuchel is a huge fan, he was pushing PSG to sign him.



Apparently they have £200-250m to spend under FFP.

Well Laporta himself was asked if Chelsea were offered FDJ in that meeting he said no. He's a bullshitter but he'd have no reason to lie about that
On the level to which they can spend you're basing your info from Ben Jacobs who's been a waffler this summer.
I do think they can spend up to £200m but to get their new GK, Koulibaly, Sterling, Cucurella, Fofana, a RWB, a ST and FDJ would be a very hefty spend needing £100-150m in sales at least to balance the books which they won't get. They don't have assets who's sales will amount to all that in general hence why I don't think they'll be seriously after FDJ unless a deal with Utd breaks down so that they can get him cheaper maybe on loan. Certainly not for £72m