Chelsea 'more likely destination' for 'very special' £68m star

Chelsea appears to be a ‘far more likely destination’ for Frenkie de Jong than Manchester United, according to Daily Express journalist Ryan Taylor.

The 25-year-old has been at the centre of one of the most public transfer sagas of the summer, and it still remains unclear where the Barcelona star will be plying his trade next term.

United appeared to be firmly in the driving seat for De Jong earlier in the window after The Athletic’s David Ornstein revealed they had agreed a £68 million deal with Barca for his services.

However, the Netherlands international has publicly expressed his love for the Catalan giants, and a dispute over a significant sum of deferred wages has caused the deal to stall.

And Chelsea appear to be eager to capitalise on De Jong’s apparent hesitance to join Erik ten Hag’s revolution at Old Trafford, joining the race for his signature.

Ornstein now claims that the west London outfit are ‘optimistic of striking a deal’ for the creative midfielder as they look to snap him up from under United’s noses.

It’s been a fairly productive summer for Chelsea so far under their new ownership, and the arrival of De Jong would surely elevate their chances of success on the pitch this season.

Taylor believes that Chelsea look to be ahead of United in the queue for his services as they can offer him Champions League football, something the Red Devils aren’t able to do.

He told GiveMeSport: “It seems to be the case, yeah. They’ve not shown any indication they’re willing to move on yet, but from the outside, it’s abundantly clear he doesn’t really want to join.

“I think Chelsea looks a far more likely destination for De Jong at the moment because they’ve got Champions League football.”

De Jong is a technically