Chelsea preparing first bid for Frenkie de Jong

Chelsea are prepared to make an opening bid to sign Manchester United target Frenkie de Jong, according to Sport.

The Red Devils have agreed a transfer fee with Barcelona for the Dutchman, but he has no plans of joining them.

The lack of Champions League is a stumbling block while he does not see himself living in Manchester as well.

As a result, he is awaiting for better proposals and it has been claimed that Chelsea could be a tempting option for him.

According to Sport, the Blues are now prepared to step up the pursuit knowing that De Jong does not want to join United.

The west London giants are loaded with central midfielders at the moment, but there could be several exits over coming weeks.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ross Barkley, Ethan Ampadu and Billy Gilmour could all make way on permanent transfers soon.

This would allow the Blues to recoup funds for De Jong as well as free up space for his arrival from the Spanish giants.