Tottenham ‘eyeing £40m deal for Ajax star Frenkie De Jong’ with Barcelona and Man City also interested
Spurs look to have joined the race to sign the young midfielder but face strong competition from some of Europe's biggest clubs
TOTTENHAM have joined the race to sign Ajax star Frenkie De Jong, according to reports.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is understood to be keen on the 21-year-old midfielder and will make a move to sign him next year.
Ajax managed to keep hold of their young talent despite two bids from Barcelona this summer but will expect a bombardment of bids next year.
But it is expected Barcelona have not given up on trying to sign him just yet, and De Jong has previously stated his desire to play alongside Lionel Messi.
The Catalan club also hope to secure a deal with Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot.
And the French giants could try and replace Rabiot, who refused a new contract this summer, with De Jong.
Mundo Deportivo also believe Manchester City, Roma and Borussia Dortmund will attempt to make a move for him.
But Ajax value their latest young talent, who they signed from Willem II in 2015, at around £40million.
De Jong burst on to the scene last season, with 22 league appearances and eight Eredivisie assists.
He has played in all four of Ajax's Eredivisie games this season and his strong performances have led to the star receiving his first international call-up for this week's fixtures.
In June, the whizzkid was asked about his promising future and he said: “I leave that to my agent. I do not know if he is working on it. Maybe, maybe not."
When questioned if he could promise to remain an Ajax player, he said: “Of course you can never promise that as a footballer.
“There may be a club tomorrow that offers so much that you are away. But as it stands, I play at Ajax."