Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong has revealed that he would like to play alongside Lionel Messi at Barcelona in the future. The Netherlands international was the subject of two failed bids from the Spanish champions during the summer and reports have suggested that the Blaugrana could make a renewed attempt at the turn of the year.

Speaking to Ajax’s television channel, De Jong hinted that he would like to make the switch to a bigger club in the future whilst highlighting his preference to play alongside Barcelona legend Messi, he said:”If you end up at a superior club, you will play with world class players all over the pitch. But for me, honestly, I would like to play with Messi one day.”

This has not been the first time that the midfielder has expressed his love for the Catalan giants but he may have to wait a little longer for the transfer, given Ajax are unperturbed by the situation. Back in the summer, the Dutch outfit managed to resist the temptation to offload their asset and club president Marc Overmars has since indicated that the midfielder would be staying put for the season regardless of the strong Barcelona interest.

Aside from Barcelona, Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur are also understood to be monitoring the midfielder’s proceedings but they may find themselves, should Ernesto Valverde’s revive their pursuit. Moreover, Ajax are said to have placed a hefty £65m price tag on the Dutchman’s head and the value may seem over the moon for Spurs, who are genuinely known to work under a tight budget under chairman Daniel Levy.

Meanwhile, Ajax have made a good start to the new Eredivisie season and they are presently just two points behind reigning champions PSV Eindhoven after the first five games of the campaign. One of the highlights during this period has been their backline, which has kept four clean sheets and conceded just one goal in the process.