De Jong stay at Ajax almost certain

Barcelona have almost given up on all hope of signing Frenkie de Jong from Ajax this summer, according to Sport.

It had been reported that de Jong’s move to Camp Nou depended largely on Ajax failing to qualify for the group stages of this season’s Champions League, but after beating Dynamo Kyiv 3-1 in the first leg of the final round of qualifiers their chances of making the competition are looking very good. Should they finish the job in the rematch in Ukraine on Tuesday, the Dutch club will certainly need their star player a while longer.

Speaking after the first leg on Wednesday this week, the 21-year-old revealed the decision for him to stay in Amsterdam for one more season has been all but made even though a move to Barcelona would represent a ‘huge leap in his career’.

The Catalan club’s hopes of Ajax failing in Ukraine are faint, but they are ready to revisit the deal in 2019.