Frenkie de Jong finds himself at a crossroads in his career at FC Barcelona. After more than five years at the club, the 27-year-old has failed to deliver on the expectations following his big-money arrival from AFC Ajax.
Having returned from a lengthy injury-enforced absence, De Jong finds himself behind the likes of Pedri, Marc Casado, and Gavi in the pecking order as things stand.
Fans are also running out of patience with the Dutchman, having whistled at him during the Catalans’ recent game.
Renewal no longer a priority
While there was a time when Barcelona were eager to tie Frenkie de Jong down to a new contract, MARCA now reports that the Blaugrana are no longer in a hurry to do so.
Barça, after all, had already sent a renewal proposal to the Netherlands international last year itself but have not received any response from him or his camp to date.
Even though his wages are high, the club had tabled a new contract offer maintaining a similar salary only to receive silence in return. That offer is now understood to have expired.
As such, given De Jong’s attitude, Barcelona are no longer prioritising his contract renewal and there is no more urgency as far as his extension is concerned.
After all, the former Ajax man is no longer a guaranteed starter, has shown to be injury-prone, and is on very high wages.
All these factors have convinced Barça to wait until the end of the season before making a decision on De Jong’s future.
As such, it will be in June when the Catalan heavyweights will decide whether to propose an extension or sell the Dutch midfielder while the possibility of him leaving for free is no longer ruled out either.
