![]() This is a player who helped put Real Madrid and Juventus to the knockout-phase sword in that thrilling 2018-19 Champions League campaign where Ajax got within moments of making the final, and who was once discussed as a possible successor to Sergio Busquets at Camp Nou.īut De Jong’s best performances in a Barcelona shirt have come in more advanced positions, with now 34-year-old veteran Busquets serving as a safety valve. His Barcelona career so far - spanning 138 appearances and with just a single Copa del Rey trophy to show for it - carries with it a tinge of disappointment. This is not ideal for De Jong, who had a goal of playing for Barcelona as a child and often holidayed in the Catalan city with his family before signing for them from Ajax in his homeland three years ago. He is most useful to his current club as a sellable asset and an €85million (£72.2m, $85.7m) agreement with United should take the Dutchman to Old Trafford - provided he both relents on his dream of Barcelona and agrees personal terms with his new prospective employers. Netherlands midfielder De Jong is in a strange position where his football ability is less important than the softer intangibles needed in Barcelona’s strange squad building (club and country team-mate Memphis Depay is in a similar boat). There is money owed, money deferred, money somehow being conjured up for new signings at Camp Nou and at least one too many players for one too few positions. This weekend saw the 25-year-old included on Barcelona’s four-match pre-season tour to the United States, mere days after the Spanish club had asked the midfielder to leave and sign for Manchester United.ĭe Jong does not want to leave Barcelona, whose head coach Xavi is thought to be ambivalent about losing such a unique talent. ![]() Frenkie de Jong is between a rock and an often rainy place.
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