21 - Frenkie de Jong

enaeipourria

Curious member
I read a lot about FDJ but still confused what position does he play? I know he is versatile and can play CM or DM. Both positions currently occupied by Raki/Arthur and Busquets. So he is another talent just like Arthur and will be competing with him for that CM position (his best position I assume)? It doesn't make sense to buy 2 unproven players for the same position.

guess they are different.Arthur profile is similar to Xavi...And De jong is more attack MD. Of course, I do not know them well. But I think they can make a perfect combination, given their age. the growth of talent is a complex issue and there is never any certainty about it.
 

BarçaBarça

New member
I am willing to give it a go with a talent like him. I don't trust Rafinha or Denis all the way, and players with greater potential like Alena and de Jong would be worth more of a shot.
 

BBZ8800

Senior Member
He played 40 senior matches in his career, but yet, he can play as Barca's Cb, Dcm, Cm and a Cam.

He mastered all positions in those 40 matches.

Hmm, sounds slightly too good to be true.
 

God Serena

New member
He played 40 senior matches in his career, but yet, he can play as Barca's Cb, Dcm, Cm and a Cam.

He mastered all positions in those 40 matches.

Hmm, sounds slightly too good to be true.

Only took Roberto one match to master all of those positions, + RB and RW.

:coffee:
 

DonAndres

Wild Man of Borneo
It would be a huge waste to have play him as CB here, or even a DM for that matter. So much of his talent revolves around breaking lines and escaping pressure with his dribbling skills.

He looks to be a good defensive player, Ajax would never have played him in the defense if that wasn't the case. But that's an attribute he can still use in midfield and helps him be the extremely well rounded prospect he's touted to be.

From what I've seen of them both I find De Jong even more impressive than Arthur, but it's hard to make the comparison until they both show themselves in a higher level of competition. De Jong is one of the most highly rated midfield prospects in football right now, and I've already talked about how players of that skillset and IQ tend to be more likely to succeed.

It was only a few years ago that Thiago, Isco, Verratti, Kroos, and the likes were young players with potential. They've all developed into world class players and even lesser players of the same profile (Koke for example) can often be very valuable. De Jong possesses a lot of similar qualities to these players and, like them, plays in a manner ahead of his years at a young age. And with his size and background as a defensive player it doesn't seem likely he'll have weaknesses on that end.
 

FC433

New member
^Interesting post. This is the first post that I see discusses FDJ. Could you please talk about him more? I have not watched him and I am concerned that he could be another Riechedly Bazoer. I understand that Riechedly Bazoer is still a young player and he could be a great player, but he is just not as good as many thought.

Thank you.
 

gregorrin10

Senior Member
I hope we do get him this year, since it seems we won't be getting a WC midfielder, so at least get both Arthur and De Jong, joined by Alena and put the trust in these talented youngsters. I guess Raki and Busquets are gonna have to be enough in terms of experience, helped by Coutinho and Roberto, when he'll play in midfield. But at the same time, i really hope our Board doesn't burn all bridges in the process, screwing up another previously good relationship with another club, we could (should) be dealing with them on someone like De Ligt by next summer, when Vermaelen leaves. We should be doing that now and lock him down along with De Jong, but it is what it is. I'm just afraid he'll go this summer anyway, it was reported that he wants to leave Ajax. He'll go to Juve or something, become world class, and then we'll want him in like 3 years, but he'll be worth 100M+ by that time. I just wish this Board could be proactive for once (get in for De Ligt now), and not just reactive (only after Vermaelen leaves, they'll start to scramble for a new CB, even though we all know right now that Vermaelen will be gone by next summer and that we'll need a new CB again, especially if we sell both Mina and Marlon this year).
 
Last edited:

khaled_a_d

Senior Member
He played 40 senior matches in his career, but yet, he can play as Barca's Cb, Dcm, Cm and a Cam.

He mastered all positions in those 40 matches.

Hmm, sounds slightly too good to be true.

He is probably the ultimate glue guy/role player ala Sergi Roberto. He played all this positions. I think he can play all this positions in Barca, but he didn't master any
For That I am ok to buy him for 20-35M, but after that I would say no thanks. Would prefer to bet on Busquets/Cuenca/Puig for the time being when it happens and we somehow desperate to a player in one of those positions rather than spending huge sum on a player who have a good bust potential and no resale value
 

Co0ter

Senior Member
We would be in a good spot to get another promising youngster in midfield if Valverde planned on developing Coutinho into the LCM role, however, based on last season I think he has no intention of doing that. He usually played him at LW or RCM....on the right side where he is 50% as effective. An established CM who is in his prime would be ideal, who that may be....who knows.

We already have incredibly promising youngsters that are aren't getting playing time under Valverde, we don't need even more. Alena and Dembele last year, now Arthur. If we add de Jong to the mix I have no idea when any of them are going to play.
 

gregorrin10

Senior Member
We would be in a good spot to get another promising youngster in midfield if Valverde planned on developing Coutinho into the LCM role, however, based on last season I think he has no intention of doing that. He usually played him at LW or RCM....on the right side where he is 50% as effective. An established CM who is in his prime would be ideal, who that may be....who knows.

We already have incredibly promising youngsters that are aren't getting playing time under Valverde, we don't need even more. Alena and Dembele last year, now Arthur. If we add de Jong to the mix I have no idea when any of them are going to play.

Yeah, but with Iniesta and now Paulinho gone, and hopefully some more like Gomes, Rafinha and Vidal to follow, Valverde is quickly running out of excuses (and players) to keep benching Dembele etc. and will be left with no choice but to play Arthur, Alena (and De Jong?) regularly too, considering Raki and Busquets are the only two midfielders left, if Coutinho plays up front. Can't very well play those two to the ground until January already, especially when they're both now 30 already. Even though i wouldn't put it past Valverde. But even if he did, there's still that 3rd or even 4th regular spot to fill in every game in midfield, and if there's one thing Valverde has shown, is that he is capable of developing and trusting young players too, even if the reason is that he has no one else to play with, like he did with many players at Bilbao.

Until he's here, i think our transfer policy should definitely be more 'laid back'. No more big, expensive signings, so that Valverde will have to operate more like he did with Bilbao (smaller squad too, which he confirmed himself that he wants), which seems to be more his comfort zone. If he doesn't do better in developing and trusting young players anyway, he'll hopefully be gone by next summer anyway, and we can switch our policy again after that, if needed. As for expensive signings, Coutinho and Dembele are enough for now, we need to put their trust in Dembele too.

Even though i would love someone like Eriksen, who could inject world class quality into our midfield immediately, but regarding that there is also the matter of this stupid Board. I simply don't trust them to pull such a high profile transfer off, since they are just too incompetent to pull off buying stars like that, so i would rather see talented youngsters like Arthur, Alena and De Jong get a fair chance then. Cause, with this Board, i wouldn't take any chances, risking seeing them take another one of their middle roads, when they first target a big star like Kante or Eriksen, can't get them, and then thinking they need to somehow save face, they stock our squad with more mediocre players like Rabiot and Willian, not to mention overpaying them and their clubs massively to even get them to come in the first place, and then get stuck with them for a couple of years at least, if not more, usually ending in endless loans and massive re-sell loss, when we manage to finally get rid of them. It was the same with Arda, Gomes, Paco, and it will be the same with Rabiot and even more so Willian, if they actually come. Not to mention, while they're here, they are hindering development and taking game time away from actual gems like Dembele, Arthur and Alena.

Dembele will be fucked again, if Willian comes, same goes for Arthur and Alena in case Rabiot does. So don't go Willian. This way Valverde will have no choice but to actually play Dembele regularly, with Vidal and Paulinho both gone too. As for the midfield, i'd still rather see us bringing De Jong then, so that Valverde has no choice but to choose among the players, that are actually good, because they are the only ones available. And if it comes to it, i'd still rather see Arthur and Alena benched for De Jong than Rabiot, at least we'd have some quality in the lineup then anyway.
 
Last edited:

Porque

Senior Member
I am in favour of signing De Jong but letting him have a full season at Ajax first. He just won't get the minutes necessary here. He could be ready right now, ala Davinson to Spurs after 1 season in Ajax, but there is no way Valverde has the capacity to integrate both him and Arthur successfully in the same season.

If Valverde wants that Paulinho type player then the absolute best option is Pogba. He would be extremely expensive, but at the same time you got to imagine that he would be here 3 or so seasons before having re-sale value to PSG. By that time Neymar is 30 so we could have a case where in the next few seasons PSG sell Neymar big and replace him with Pogba big as their mediator french star signing.
 

hamoon32

New member
He is probably the most similar player to Modric. Excellent vision, close control, dribbling ability. Plays lots of long balls and has very good acceleration. He hasn't really proven himself, but i feel we'll deeply regret if we miss on him. Considering he'll have a much higher price if he has another successful season and attract other big clubs, best option for us is to secure him and let him play another season at Ajax.
 

Blaugranaa

New member
I am glad to see people in here have so much faith in him. In order to continue our success it's important that our midfield can control games. In my opinion it's just a little frightening that our midfield will be Rakitic - Busquets - Arthur/De Jong/Suarez. Considering how crucial this position is to us, it's hard to believe we will manage to control games with a third player who aren't even in the national team for their country. Furthermore these players don't know the system of Barca yet (besides Suarez). A player like Eriksen had been the safe move. I just hope these guys can prove themselves. We need that!
 

Home of Barca Fans

Top