Manchester City to blow Barcelona out of the water for Netherlands star

Manchester City are looking to steal on the much on some esteemed competition from across Europe for youngster Frenkie de Jong by offering Ajax an incentive, according to The Sun.

The Premier League champions are keen to move fast to get their man and are willing to spend £62m on the Dutch international in January, while letting the midfielder stay with the Eredivisie giants until the end of the season.

Barcelona are believed to be tracking the 21-year-old closely but are thought to be put off by Ajax’s valuation of their academy graduate, unwilling to offer over £50m for De Jong’s services.

City, meanwhile, are less restricted financially than the Catalans - who recorded a loss last month in that regard - and are known to be on the lookout for midfield reinforcements.

Tanguy Ndombele is another name to have been linked with the Manchester club, but De Jong certainly fits the Pep Guardiola model. The youngster, who has also filled in at centre-back from time to time for Ajax, has completed 92.1 per cent of his passes in the Eredivisie this season, which drops only slightly to 91 per cent in the Champions League.

The sought after Netherlands starlet broke into the first team at Ajax on a regular basis last season and registered seven assists in 22 league appearances as the Amsterdam outfit finished second to PSV Eindhoven.