Frenkie de Jong

[serghei]

There were expectations that he was probably being groomed to be Busi's successor. But he did show glimpses that he could possibly be more than just being a DLP DM for this team going by his time at Ajax and for the NT. His ability to drive forward with the ball from down deep got people wondering if he could just be more than just a guy who is there to link the Defense and Attack from deep.

But the execution under Valverde and Seiten was wrong, they used him more as some sort of Water Carrier and he looked more like a Winger than anything. He didn't have much influence in the build-up and didn't get much of the ball like a Midfielder should get. Heck go back early on in the thread and we were bitching that we paid 75 million euros for a guy that is nothing more than some Water Carrier for some aging legs.

It took a while even under Koeman for him to evolve into this B2B Midfielder role we have seen for the past couple of months. The idea was there but it was all about the execution and Koeman got it right by the looks of it. Not only is De Jong making these runs into the box but he's also still influential on the ball as well, which is needed instead of just being a guy who is running like a headless chicken.

Good post. Not sure I agree with the phrasing of "just being a DLP DM". We'll find out soon how tough it is to find a top player for what that role implies at Barca.

 

[Vilarrubi]

Another goal for Frenkie Lampard tonight.

 

[CatalinR10]

Another goal for Frenkie Lampard tonight.

HOPE.

 

[Fati_Future_BallonDor]

Hopefully Griezmann/Coutinho/Braithwhite can learn from Frenkie's finishing skills.

 

[te amo barca]

Very quiet game deeper down the pitch. Need Busi to play to improve his attacking prowess it seems. Midfield wasn't working today until Roberto was subbed in.

 

[HighContrast]

Very quiet game deeper down the pitch. Need Busi to play to improve his attacking prowess it seems. Midfield wasn't working today until Roberto was subbed in.

Not sure about a "quiet" game. He had some great runs, but it obviously wasn't his best performance and a midfield with Pjanic isn't the way to go so we can't really judge him on that.

 

[JamDav1982]

Very quiet game deeper down the pitch. Need Busi to play to improve his attacking prowess it seems. Midfield wasn't working today until Roberto was subbed in.

Thought he played well and midfield controlled game in first half and not so much in second.

 

[Xaviniesta]

Very quiet game deeper down the pitch. Need Busi to play to improve his attacking prowess it seems. Midfield wasn't working today until Roberto was subbed in.

he sat back and played busi's role while pjanic was ahead

 

[te amo barca]

he sat back and played busi's role while pjanic was ahead

True, that's why I said he played deeper today.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

he sat back and played busi's role while pjanic was ahead

Exactly. We can't expect him to score goals in that case. Pjanic is defensive blackhole so De Jong needs to cover that.

 

[MagIX]

The Boss.
He and Pedri are the future of our midfield, no doubt.
We need to find the 3.rd player to complete our midfield.

 

[JohnN]

Busi is better in that role but was abscent today. Even so, Frankie had some good moments, but he is too limited there.

 

[Gnidrologist]

The Boss.
He and Pedri are the future of our midfield, no doubt.

He's already present of our midfield. And it seems Pedri too.

 

[JerseyAddict]

GOAT
Absolute GOAT

 

[Flavius]

What a player do we have, a legend...and the smartness of ball interception, pure class