Speaking to Sky Sports, he said that the Dutch prodigy was given permission by Ajax to talk with Guardiola, before Barcelona swooped in with a mega deal to lure the player on a five-year contract that will now keep him at the Nou Camp till the summer of 2024.
In case you didn’t know…
de Jong was signed by the Dutch giants for a mere £260 k in 2015 from fellow Eredivisie side Willem II. The 21-year-old has broken into the Netherlands national team and has been a regular starter since his debut in June last year.
He was linked with a host of top European clubs, but FC Barcelona ended up winning the race to his signature.
The heart of the matter…
Guardiola was in pursuit of the Ajax star, having missed out on the now Chelsea player Jorginho in the summer transfer window.
Van der Kraan, who works for De Telegraaf, a newspaper which has close ties with Ajax, revealed in the Sky Sports Transfer Talk Podcast that de Jong thinks very highly of the Spanish manager and had made up his mind at one point to join the Cityzens.
He said:
He also mentioned that PSG almost signed him by making a huge €75 million bid, but because the Catalan giants made a last-gasp bid of €75m with a further €11m in add-ons, the director Marc Overmars gave the nod to the player.
He continued:
What’s next?
While de Jong has joined Barcelona, Guardiola continues to search for a worthy replacement for his midfield general Fernandinho.
In the meantime, Manchester City face Newcastle United in their league fixture as they aim to keep the pressure on the league leaders Liverpool.
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