Tottenham plan £40m bid for Ajax wonderkid De Jong

Bengaluru, September 7: North London giants Tottenham have joined the race to sign Ajax starlet Frenkie De Jong, according to reports.

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is understood to be keen on the 21-year-old midfielder and will make a move to sign him next year.

As per reports in England as well as Spain, Tottenham are now ready to go up against some of Europe's elite clubs to sign De Jong, but may wait until the summer to give him a full season in the Eredivisie.

Ajax managed to keep hold of their young prodigy despite two bids from Barcelona earlier this summer, but are expecting a host of bids for their talented youngster next year.

It is believed that Barcelona have not given up on trying to sign him just yet, plus De Jong has also previously expressed his wish to play alongside Lionel Messi.

The Catalan club also hope to secure a deal for Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot which could mean that De Jong might prefer to move to north London where his chances of playing first-team football will be more.

Meanwhile, the French champions could also try and replace Rabiot, who refused a new contract this summer, with De Jong.

Mundo Deportivo also believe Manchester City, Roma and Borussia Dortmund will attempt to make a move for him. Ajax value their latest young talent, who they signed from Willem II in 2015, at around £40million.

De Jong burst on to the scene last season, with 22 league appearances and eight Eredivisie assists. He has played in all four of Ajax's Eredivisie games this season and his strong performances have led to the star receiving his first international call-up for this week's fixtures.

In June, the wonderkid was asked about his promising future and he said: “I leave that to my agent. I do not know if he is working on it. Maybe, maybe not."

When questioned if he could promise to stay an Ajax player, he said: “Of course you can never promise that as a footballer.

“There may be a club tomorrow that offers so much that you are away. But as it stands, I play at Ajax."