Ajax Director Marc Overmars Tells Barcelona 'No' Over Move for Dutch Starlet Frenkie de Jong
Barcelona have been hit with the latest 'not for sale' answer from Marc Overmars. The Catalan club have continued an aggressive push in trying to garner the signature of Frenkie de Jong, but Ajax refuse to be bullied into a transfer.
Sport report that De Godenzonen's footballing director will not allow one of his club's most promising assets to leave the Dutch capital this year. Coach Erik ten Hag has been given reassurances from Overmars that Ajax have no intention of selling the young midfielder.
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De Jong has admitted that an interest from Barca flatters him, but is currently focused on helping Ajax reach the Champions League group stage: "I noticed it. At the beginning it was nice, but now it doesn't interest me.
"It's fun to see yourself in Spanish newspapers but it doesn't interest me now, I want to be 100% focused on my team...Simply speaking I'm an Ajax player so I can't say much about that (Barça interest) at the moment out of respect for them,
"Of course there's interest in me, everybody knows that. But as I said, I'm an Ajax player right now."
With the midfield addition of Arthur Melo, the giants of La Liga are preparing for life without Andres Iniesta. It seems that they are still interested in adding another piece in the middle of the pitch though, with De Jong rumoured alongside the names of Adrien Rabiot and N'Golo Kante.
The 21-year-old appeared in 22 Eredivisie matches last season, providing eight assists as Ajax finished runners-up to rivals PSV.
If an incredible offer is to be made by Barca - possibly funded by the potential sales of Yerry Mina and Lucas Digne - it is likely to be after Ajax's Champions League qualifying campaign. Rumours suggest that the Amsterdam side would be more flexible in negotiations if they were to make the group stage.
With Overmars having played for La Blaugrana between 2000 and 2004, the former Netherlands international may see Barcelona as the best club for De Jong's development. Nevertheless, he is still holding firm for the moment, with the youngster not for sale.
