City were all set to complete a move for Frenkie De Jong before Barcelona came calling

Manchester City were very close to completing a move for midfielder Frankie De Jong before Barcelona came calling.

According to the Daily Mail, members of Frenkie de Jong’s family were in Manchester scouting out properties before Barcelona showed interest.

De Jong’s girlfriend jetted into Manchester to find a house in which they would settle into their life in England.

Eventually, Barcelona made an offer of £65 million to Ajax and a deal for the Dutch International was done.

The pull of playing at Barcelona is certainly stronger than the Premier League.

Manchester City were targeting De Jong as a future replacement for club captain Fernandinho. After misses with Fred, Jorginho and Tanguy Ndombele, Man City finally got their man in Rodri.

Manchester City signed Rodri from Atletico Madrid for a fee of £62.8 million.