El Nacional: Barcelona reject €35m bid from Milan for Dutch midfielder | OneFootball

AC Milan seem to currently be in a phase of exploring various January opportunities, and they made an offer to Barcelona for Frenkie De Jong.

That is according to El Nacional (via Calciomercato.com), who report that the Milan directors presented to Barca’s sporting director Deco should be recorded a proposal of €25m as a fixed fee plus €10m in potential bonuses.

It was an offer rejected for now by the Catalan side, who are asking for at least €45m to sell the Dutchman. De Jong is admired because he can play either in a deeper midfield role – allowing Tijjani Reijnders, his compatriot, to push up – or even a bit further forward himself.

This season, the former Ajax man has made just 16 appearances, only five of which were starts. Barca paid a whopping €85m to sign him from Ajax in 2019, but he does not seem to be a big part of Hansi Flick’s plans.

In fact, the coach has not been satisfied with his performance for some time but yesterday evening – after the 5-1 victory over Real Betis in the Copa del Rey – he said the following: “It was a step forward in the right direction for him, I’m happy he played well.”

There has been talk of De Jong leaving for some time, also thanks to a contract that runs until 30 June 2026 and therefore less than 18 months left to run. The fact Barcelona are trying to make room in the squad to complete new signings could be an important factor.