Frenkie de Jong
- Thread starter DonAK
- Start date
- Status
Andrew M
New member
But would Suarez and Munir? Probably not.
DonAndres
Wild Man of Borneo
Watching the second leg vs Sturm, he's gotten some minutes in midfield in the second half. Looks very comfortable and roams a lot, playing pretty well but in fairness Sturm is bad and everyone is playing well. Broke some guy's ankles earlier while at CB.
What's good to see that he presses and defends actively and has good instincts for it too (probably developed in that way while playing CB). This is even when Ajax are up 3-0 with nothing to play for.
I hope he starts playing every game in midfield soon, I'll probably watch as many Ajax games as I can this season for De Ligt and De Jong.
What's good to see that he presses and defends actively and has good instincts for it too (probably developed in that way while playing CB). This is even when Ajax are up 3-0 with nothing to play for.
I hope he starts playing every game in midfield soon, I'll probably watch as many Ajax games as I can this season for De Ligt and De Jong.
DonAndres
Wild Man of Borneo
Better for us tbh. We have good relations with Ajax and they aren't one of those clubs (a la Dortmund, Leipzig) to slap an outrageous price on any good talents they have.
Ajax's demands aren't likely to be that excessive to Barca. Especially if they qualify for CL, a season in midfield will be big for De Jong as he hasn't tested himself in that role. De Ligt I feel is all but ready to make that next jump to a top league and top team, though as a substitute. For a midtable team in a top league I think he would be a decent starter from even the first season perhaps. If he could hold his own against United in an EL final at 17 then I don't see why he couldn't be at that level by 20.
FC433
New member
^D. Sanchez was just fine. I think Eredivisie players should move once they get 23 or even before. The league is really really young staying there for more than two to three seasons is going to hurt their development.
But as you said. We are extremely lucky because of their relatively high prices. I can see 80% De Jong coming, but I do not believe we have a chance of getting De Ligt, unfortunately.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Barca/comments/93gaj3/transfer_talk_thread_july_31st_august_5th/e3fn9n8
But as you said. We are extremely lucky because of their relatively high prices. I can see 80% De Jong coming, but I do not believe we have a chance of getting De Ligt, unfortunately.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Barca/comments/93gaj3/transfer_talk_thread_july_31st_august_5th/e3fn9n8
DonAndres
Wild Man of Borneo
Nobody told me the match was on.Anyways, question. Asked the same in Ndombele thread.
Do you feel De Jong is a generational talent?
I do think he is by virtue of playing style and what he can do on the pitch, so the "eye test" so to speak. His talent when it comes to dribbling, passing between lines, reading the game, etc. all look special. His physicality and defensive workrate is above average for prospects in the same mould before him.
But you also have to evaluate on merit and not just the "eye test", which is not easy to do for De Jong yet. As I said before he had the highest pass completion % in Eredivisie despite all the line breaking passes and long balls he always plays. Also 94% dribble completion even though he goes on some daring runs. He's performed very well vs the highest level Dutch sides like PSV and AZ Alkmaar, which is promising. Also stands out quite a a bit at U21 level which many elite mids have similarly achieved. As you can see in the above post his stats seem to consistently be excellent, another good sign.
There needs to be a bigger sample size to judge. He's looked terrific in the CL qualifications, but it's just Sturm so maybe not even Eredivisie level competition yet. Further CL qualification rounds and the group stages if they get there will be significant places to look if De Jong holds up.
He's much like Arthur in the sense that, within the context of their situation, he has shown everything he is expected to show of a high level talent. Stood out significantly in the competitions he's already played, and hopefully keeps doing so this season in the CL.
Similarly, the only avenue for failure is in the uncertainty of stepping up from a low level league to a higher one. There's always the fixed uncertainty of how a game translates from one level to another. There's nothing intrinsically about De Jong's game I can pinpoint as a weakness that might be exposed at the next level (dribbling, passing, mobility, physical traits) but that fixed uncertainty is there nonetheless. I would be comfortable calling him a generational talent from what he's been able to show so far though. Not even sure if I was as high on Isco/Thiago's potential as I am on De Jong, though the former 2 had the benefit of beginning in La Liga (so safer to evaluate).
Joan
Well-known member
Nice post, tending to be objective. I've watched some of his matches but when I see him playing as a CB, lose interest. Gotta say, I liked him, but you seem impressed. Guess it's due to a really small sample (my). That said, would be good if he started playing as a midfielder. Albeit, from what I've seen, he could make a libero. What position(s) in the midfield do you think he could occupy?
Ah, just remembered.... would you bring him this season if had a chance?
Last edited:
DonAndres
Wild Man of Borneo
I think he could play Busi's role or as a center mid. I would prefer CM because he would have full freedom to dribble and roam around wherever he wants. However, I could see him playing well at CDM too because he has more space for long balls and progressing the ball from deep in the midfield. He's also press resistant which you need for both positions, whether or not he's good enough defensively to make an elite CDM I couldn't say for sure.
I agree that playing at CB is a bad situation for him. But to me the confidence with which he attacks and creates plays from the CB position shows a fierce confidence in a very young player. Best of all he doesn't make many mistakes doing it. He plays any vertical pass he wants to in that league. Think of how many players have been able to play like that from CB, ever? Even though it isn't an elite competition that's impressive.
I would get him this summer if that means the price doesn't go way up next season. If he gains traction by playing in midfield teams like City or PSG could pounce, raising Ajax's price. But I don't mind letting him stay there till next summer if it meant we pay up front and loan him back.
Real Madrid has made a habit of buying quite a few young players on faith and hoping some would pan out successfully. All of the transfers, even the ones that failed, were good investments. Guys like Danilo, Morata, etc. They didn't make it but were good players to bet on. Varane, Carvajal, Isco, Casemiro, Asensio, and Kovacic are all relatively cheap purchases that have made a pretty big impact on their success. They also invested in James who was a success but left for Bayern. We've made some pretty bad decisions with our investments. Guys like Arda, Gomes, Paulinho who could never reach star level play.
We have started going down a good path with transfers like Dembele, Arthur, Malcom, Umtiti, and Semedo. De Jong is another one I think that could put us back on the very top. Hopefully when that young roster matures our team can phase out of becoming dependent on Messi and rather making things easier for him. If Dembele achieves his potential I think we're in a very good position for when Messi finally retires too.
khaled_a_d
Senior Member
We don't have a good relation with Ajax,and they sell expensively
- Status
Home of Barca Fans
