The Guardian- 24 January 2019  De Jong joins Adrien Rabiot in agreeing summer move. Frenkie de Jongposes with a Barcelona shirt and his new club’s president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, after ending months of transfer speculation by agreeing to join Barcelona in July. 

The Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong will join Barcelona this summer on a five-year contract for €75m (£65.3m), the La Liga club have announced.

The 21-year-old Netherlands international had been one of Europe’s most sought-after young players, with Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain also interested in signing him. But after weeks of negotiations, De Jong’s arrival in a deal that could eventually rise to €86m was confirmed by Barça’s Twitter account on Wednesday with the message: “A new artist is coming next summer”.

De Jong will spend the rest of the season at Ajax, meaning he is free to face Real Madrid in the Champions League last-16 tie next month.

“FC Barcelona and Ajax have reached an agreement for the transfer of midfielder Frenkie de Jong, who will be joining the Catalan club from 1 July 2019,” a statement on the club’s website read.

“The cost of the transfer operation is €75m, plus a further €11m in variables. The player will be signing a contract for the next five seasons, through to 2023-24.”

Transfer window January 2019 – every deal from Europe's top five leagues

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De Jong joined Ajax in 2015 from Willem II and quickly set about securing a place at the base of the club’s midfield, playing a pivotal role as they reached the 2017 Europa League final, where they lost to Manchester United.

He is Barcelona’s fourth signing in what is proving to be a busy January after the loan arrivals of Jeison Murillo and Kevin-Prince Boateng. The club also announced that Jean-Clair Todibo will join from Toulouse in the close season, while Munir El Haddadi left the club to join Sevilla.

“With the arrival of Frenkie De Jong we add talent, youth and Barça style to our sporting project,” said president Josep Maria Bartomeu. “We are convinced that he will be a key part of our team for years to come.”{jcomments on}

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