If De Jong’s performance did not go unnoticed, it is also because the 25-year-old midfielder sometimes struggles to display the same level in the Blaugrana jersey. What is worth to him to be regularly criticized, sometimes more than measure, by the Catalan media. The paradox can surprise and the person interested in his idea on the question. “I play in a very different way here, with the Netherlands, compared to Barçahe explained after the victory in Belgium. I think it suits me much better. I like being the first player to receive the ball from defenders and making the connection with the attack.”
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An unnatural role at Barça
This role, De Jong very rarely holds it in another medium composed of three elements, that of FC Barcelona. It is the indestructible Sergio Busquets who occupies him at Barça, where the Dutchman is used more as a torchbearer. Xavi does not ask him to be at the origin of the offensive phases, to go down to the level of the defense to become the first raiser and to accompany the offensive phase as De Jong does so well in selection. In club, his register consists rather in making himself available between the lines to try to touch the attackers.
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His influence on the game is felt considerably. In torchbearer, De Jong must work more on the sides to maintain the balance of the collective block. He has the volume of runs to do it, but that doesn’t highlight much sharper qualities when the former Ajax player is stabilized in the centre. De Jong is thus forced to play a little against nature under Xavi’s orders. This explains at least in part why the Dutchman does not have the same influence in club and selection.
Xavi’s choice in question
The choice of the Barcelona coach may surprise. If Busquets has long been considered the best player to play this role in front of the defense, this observation is always less clear as the years go by. Installing De Jong in this position is not meaningless. The Dutchman has comparable qualities in reading the game and passing accuracy, but above all he brings this mobility which is lacking in Busquets. And its complementarity with Pedri and Gavi, the two Spanish nuggets in the Barcelona midfield, leaves little doubt. Potentially, Barça hold a competitive trio in the middle for many years.
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But the trend is not really to rely on it for the future. Already struggling to extend Gavi’s contract, the Barcelona management are willing to part ways with De Jong to give themselves some breathing room in a stifling economic situation. For tactical and performance reasons, the Dutchman obviously failed to make himself indispensable in Catalonia, even if he is far from being the only one responsible for this situation. This partly explains why Barcelona are open to his departure. Even if the major explanation is economic.
The consequence of catastrophic management
The idea of selling de Jong makes all the more sense as he is one of the most valuable elements in Barcelona’s squad. The Dutchman is indeed one of the ten most expensive players in the world according to the latest CIES report, with an estimated rating of 112 million euros. It is also coveted. Erik ten Hag, his former coach at Ajax, dreams of making him the strong link in his midfield at Manchester United. PSG would also keep an eye on him to strengthen his midfield, even if De Jong does not appear to be the capital club’s priority target at this stage of the transfer window. And Manchester City would also be attentive to his situation.
Barça will probably not have much difficulty finding takers for a midfielder of De Jong’s caliber. The player’s desire to stay at Barcelona to play in his best position and impose himself there is not really a factor. The Catalan club has just not finished paying the consequences of a catastrophic management of its finances for too many years. Losing De Jong would be one. Even if the Dutchman has never really managed to express his full potential at Barcelona, his departure would be likely to give the Blaugranas many regrets.
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