Arsenal and Manchester City target January deal for Ajax starlet

 

Arsenal and Manchester City are set to lock horns in January for Ajax midfielder Frenkie De Jong, reports The Sun.

 

The 20-year-old only has 18 months to run on his current Ajax deal and City and Arsenal are eyeing a cut-price deal for the highly-rated central midfielder.

 

De Jong made his first team debut for Ajax last season and even came on towards the end of their Europa League final defeat to Manchester United in May.

 

However, new Ajax boss Marcel Keizer has given the Netherlands U21 international a more prominent role this season and his performances have caught the attention of some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs.

 

While Chelsea are also monitoring his future, City and Arsenal are ready to firm up their interest and have already spoken with the Dutch giants about a potential deal.

 

Arsenal and Manchester City target January deal for Ajax starlet

 

De Jong has featured in eight of Ajax’s 11 league matches this season, averaging an impressive WhoScored rating of 7.44 when discounting substitute appearances.

 

In fact, only Nick Viergever (67.5) averages more passes per game than De Jong (66.8) of all Ajax players in the Eredivisie this season when factoring in statistics from starts alone.