If this rumor turns out to be true and De Jong is bound for QSG, it is a testament of his severe lack of ambition as a footballer. In particular given the numerous other options available to him if past and present rumors are to be believed.
He will either stagnate or not fulfill his promise like other talents and players before him in Paris. The list is rather long. Marquinhos, Verratti, Rabiot, Draxler, Neymar, Lucas etc. All of which, so far at least, have failed to take the next step in their development and reach a higher celling.
"Competing" in the mighty Ligue 1 and the two domestic French cups for years, sans at most 13 Champions League games (if PSG reaches the final for the first time in their history that is) each season, at a crucial point in your career, can't possibly be a wise career choice.
I would be rather shocked if it turns out that he prefers PSG over the likes of Barça and Real Madrid. It only tells me one thing, namely that both those giants do not value him as highly (for whatever reasons) as PSG supposedly does. Anything else makes little sense, if you ask me.
I actually don't think that there is a lot of reason to be too upset if he truly prefers PSG. There is no doubt that he is a very interesting player but I don't really regard (from what I have seen of him so far for club and country at least) him as a generational midfield talent on the CM position. I am much more inclined to look at de Ligt as a generational talent on his position. Moreover there are plenty of alternatives for the club to go after in case this rumor is accurate. In France alone there are several very promising up-and-coming midfield talents and exiting youngsters are emerging on the football scene each season. He is just the most popular flavor since the past summer like so many before him. Some of those past flavors turned out to have a very short shelf life (I remember Bazoer, who is only 6 months older than De Jong, and other talented Ajax/Dutch midfielders not fullfiling their potential) while others proved their longevity.
De Jong is not really a defensive midfielder either so people here or elsewhere that potentially look at him as a successor of Busquets, are mistaken in my opinion. I don't really see him as a successor of Busquets at all. To me he is more of traditional two-way central midfielder with his greatest strengths being his passing game, dribbling and his movement between the lines both defensively and offensively. In many ways he is a more mobile Arthur. However the Brazilian is a bigger talent IMO and has so far proven to be a perfect fit this early on in his career in Europe.
Ndombele, an actual defensive midfielder, is a much better fit stylistically if the goal is to replace Busquets. A more dynamic player as well. Dynamism is something that our midfield is severely lacking, hence the Vidal transfer.
On the other hand De Jong would be a great replacement for Rakitic. However it is easier to find central midfielders out there (given the vast talent pool) rather than a defensive midfielder that could successfully succeed Busquets in our system or what is left of it nowadays thanks to the board's neglect of the sporting project (that has been ongoing for years), wrong transfer priorities, wrong managerial appointments etc. However that is another discussion altogether.
In short, I am still hopeful of this just being one out of many rumors and that De Jong will remain an option this upcoming summer, however should that not be the case, it is not the end of the world. Nor would it be something new. Mbappe was a much bigger "loss" in hindsight. A generational talent without doubt. I can't say the same about De Jong, irregardless of the big hype coming from mainly the Dutch media and IMO completely ridiculous comparisons of De Jong with Cruyff.
)and just write off next season aswell but hey, we might just win another Copa right?
