Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is the one pushing for the club to sign Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, according to CBS Sports reporter Ben Jacobs.

Up until now, Manchester United have been favourites to secure the Dutchman’s services, having had an €85m (£71m) bid accepted for the player, but Jacobs believes that Chelsea are now looking to get involved following Tuchel’s instigation:

Thomas Tuchel is very much driving the Chelsea interest. Boehly again backing his manager and trying to pull off an ambitious signing. Won’t be easy but #CFC now exploring.

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) August 3, 2022

Barca are pretty much forcing de Jong out so they can finance a deal for Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva, so agreeing a fee with the La Liga club shouldn’t be difficult.

However, the Blues will be keen to make sure the 25-year-old is willing to make the switch to Stamford Bridge before going too far into negotiations.

While de Jong is likely to be more open to joining Chelsea, due to the fact they are based in London and because they have Champions League football, he is not believed that be that keen on leaving the Camp Nou.