Head coach Thomas Tuchel prioritized the signing of two center backs to replace Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger throughout the summer transfer window.

Fresh faces have also been needed in the wing-back and forward positions, with the midfield appearing to be last on the list of positions that need significant strengthening before the new season.

Chelsea revealed a deal to acquire Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa on Tuesday night, and it appears that they are doing everything in their power to trump that transfer later this month.

The West Londoners are pushing to secure a deal for De Jong, who has been closely associated with Manchester United, according to The Athletic.

Knowing that Barcelona will sell for the right price, De Jong's former manager at Ajax, Erik ten Hag, has been eager to add the Netherlands international to his midfield options at Old Trafford.

However, despite the financial terms allegedly having been agreed upon several weeks ago, it has repeatedly been asserted that De Jong is opposed to a transfer to the Theatre of Dreams.

That is seemingly owing to United's only participating in the Europa League in 2022–23, while it has been further reported that he would prefer to move to England’s capital over Manchester.

The Athletic says that Chelsea are currently in discussions with their counterparts at Barcelona and are “optimistic” about reaching the desired resolution.

As recently as last Friday, Barcelona president Joan Laporta insisted that the Catalan giants wanted to retain the services of the 25-year-old, despite their predicament regarding finances and squad numbers.

Speaking to reporters, Laporta said: “Frenkie is a Barca player." We want him to stay. He wants to stay. We’ve received important bids for him, but he’s our player. You know the salary budget situation, so we will do our best to keep Frenkie at Barca, and I hope he’ll do the same. "

De Jong has also stated that he wishes to remain at Camp Nou, although those comments came at a time when Chelsea were not known to have shown any initial interest.

Chelsea and Barcelona are also believed to be in constant discussions regarding the potential transfers of Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso to the La Liga side.

As it stands, an exit for Alonso looks more likely with Chelsea said to be closing in on the signing of Brighton & Hove Albion’s Marc Cucurella.