Manchester City are reportedly prepared to renew their pursuit of Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong when the transfer window reopens in the New Year. The Dutchman had been heavily tipped to leave Ajax during the summer with plenty of high-profile interest but the club eventually decided against his sale after none of the clubs failed to match their asking price.

Since then, Barcelona have been tipped to acquire the Dutchman when the transfer window reopens but according to The Mirror, the Citizens are prepared to lodge an approach of their own for the former Willem II graduate. City were expected to acquire a new central midfielder during the summer following the departure of Yaya Toure after the expiry of his contract and this saw them linked with a move for Jorginho, who was then at Napoli.

However, the Premier League holders struggled to finalise the eventual fee with the Naples outfit and this eventually meant that Chelsea hijacked the move despite Jorginho’s representative revealing that personal terms were already agreed. As things stand, Barcelona have been fancied to wrap up the midfielder’s services at the turn of the year but they could face added competition from the likes of City, Manchester United and Juventus.

Nonetheless, there has been no indication from the Ajax side that they could be prepared to sanction a mid-season sale and their director Marc Overmars recently stressed that any suitors may have to wait until the end of the campaign. Pep Guardiola’s side have made another strong start to the season with five wins and one draw from their opening six league games but they are still a couple of points behind Liverpool, who have not put a foot wrong since the season started.

Manchester City welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the Etihad Stadium for this weekend’s league meeting and the matchday may witness them jump ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s team, who could drop points against Chelsea on the road.