Barcelona and Chelsea were two teams who conducted a lot of business both cooperatively and competitively, but the upcoming transfer windows could bring up even more turmoil between the two.
With the exception of Cesar Azpilicueta, who was persuaded to remain at Stamford Bridge for at least the 2022–23 season, the Catalan giants typically prevailed against the Blues, whether it was Marcos Alonso, Raphinha, Jules Kounde, or Ousmane Dembele.
Although, overall, Barcelona achieved what they wanted, the west Londoners, led by interim sporting director Todd Boehly, had to restructure their plans when several targets were taken or, ultimately, maintained by Barca.
However, Frenkie was one instance where both Chelsea and Barcelona ultimately lost out.Barca wanted to get rid of his wages from the bill to ensure they complied with strict La Liga regulations but after months of speculation, the Dutchman got what he wanted as he stayed put.
This meant that both Manchester United and Chelsea missed out on a key midfield target. Whilst the Red Devils ended up with no new midfielder before the deadline, their Premier League counterparts did sign Denis Zakaria on loan to compensate for missing out on the £70m signing.
But with N'Golo Kanté and Jorginho set to see their contracts run out in the upcoming summer, new midfield recruits will be needed and that's where De Jong comes back into the question.
Whether or not Chelsea make another play for Barca's number 21 remains to be seen. Maybe a move for Declan Rice could come to fruition, especially if West Ham were to get relegated after enduring a terrible start to 2022/23 under David Moyes.
Regardless of the outcome, one Chelsea star has indirectly tried his best to sweeten the relationship ahead of potential fresh De Jong talks in the upcoming few months between the pair. According to Spanish Journalist Luis Rojo, 'Jorginho offered himself to Barcelona a few days ago, but the club is not considering his signing.'
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