Barcelona's plans for Ajax starlet Frenkie de Jong

Despite the transfer window closing, Frenkie de Jong's name remains on everyone's lips. De Telegraaf published on Monday that Real Madrid will offer 80 million euros for Ajax's Dutch midfielder. Another club joins the fight. A week doesn't pass in which one of Europe's top clubs add their name to the waiting list: Bayern Munich, PSG, Manchester City and Tottenham all appeared before Los Blancos.

But Florentino Perez dreams of beating Barcelona to the signings. The Catalan club tried to sign De Jong in the summer but Ajax's sporting director Marc Overmars confirmed their two bids weren't high enough. "They didn't value him highly enough," he said. De Jong himself said he won't leave Amsterdam until next summer, at the earliest. But, the pressure from Europe's biggest clubs is public. Despite that, Ali Dursun, his agent, is giving no clues: "I can't confirm or deny anything, you have to ask Marc Overmaes because I send him all the clubs that come to me." 

RELAXED BARÇA 

Barça remain relaxed. They made the moves the considered necessary in the summer and are convinced that, despite the first offers not working, they took the steps which leave them better placed than their rivals. The player, who will have the last word, showed his desire to play for Barça one day, which allows the Blaugrana to be optimistic. Now, the club must decide if they're definitely going to return for the Dutch international. 

THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 

A De Jong decision will be made by Barça in December. They will make it without feeling pressured by the interest from other European clubs and with the summer of 2019 in mind. There are no doubts about the player's quality and his room to grow, but the club want to see how he progresses in the Champions League. Sporting director Eric Abidal and his team plan to follow all De Jong's games in Europe. The objective is to analyse how he adapts to such a demanding competition.