BarcelonaAs Barça grows as a team, Xavi Hernández joins the cause. The last to take a step forward was Frenkie de Jong, a footballer whom Barça had hoped would show its full potential since he landed at the club in the summer of 2019. When months before that, the club left closed the signing of the Dutchman, the feeling in the entity was of maximum happiness. Barça had overtaken other great giants of European football such as Manchester City and PSG to sign one of the brightest young players in an Ajax team that marveled at Europe for its bold and uninhibited football.
Before landing in Barcelona, he was also distinguished in the UEFA ideal eleven as the best midfielder in the Champions League. But despite being an exciting signing that has generated consensus for both the club and the fans, it has taken Frenkie more than expected to find his place on the team as he watched as Gavi and Nico (heirs of the impact of Pedri last year), extra competition came out. The general decline of the team in recent years and the changes of course on the bench (Valverde, Setión, Koeman) have not helped the Dutchman’s adaptation. But now, with the help of Xavi, he is beginning to vindicate himself.
Before the arrival of the Terrassa native on the bench, De Jong had already left some traces of his exuberance, especially with driving in the open field. With Koeman he also uncovered himself for a few months as an interior with a lot of arrival, a role he had not taught at Ajax. But despite having good performances on time, he continued to have worrying shortcomings in understanding the game and interpreting key concepts, such as detecting third home and thus facilitate the construction of the play from the pass. It was in the match against Napoli this Thursday when he began to reflect on the pitch this non-negotiable tactical improvement in Xavi’s book. Apart from scoring the second goal against the Italians and intelligently throwing the pressure – he recovered up to 9 balls, 7 in the opposing field – the Dutchman was the player who made the most accurate passes of the whole match. (67), and also who gave more key passes, which end with a shot (3).
“He understands more and more what we ask of him. He is very professional and very self-demanding. He is very critical of himself. He is very humble and that makes him better. one of the best players in this sense “, said Xavi after the victory on Italian soil. “We have worked individually, as well as with other players, to delve into key concepts such as generating superiority,” they told Sant Joan Despí. “He is a very good footballer. It has a lot of quality and can be adapted perfectly to the Barça game. He is a guy with a lot of character, focused on football, but who has been affected by the changes and the situation of the club in recent years “, explains one of the architects of his signing in the winter of 2019.
Haaland needs funding
However, Xavi wanted to highlight the evolution of the player, while emphasizing that “it must be very important for the team”. A message that seems like a warning to sailors, because there are several heavy voices in the offices of the Camp Nou who would not rule out making a drawer with Frenkie in the summer. Joan Laporta wants to tackle the signing of Erling Haaland for the striker, an acquisition for which cash is needed to pay Borussia Dortmund and the Norwegian agents, as well as space in the payroll. That’s why De Jong, who has a high record, a high market value and a lot of competition in the core, appears in the crossings. However, Barça sources consulted by ARA admit that selling the international Orange it would not be as profitable in terms of transfer as of salary release.
The reason for this circumstance is the pending amortization of the signing, which is approximately 65 million. “If we listened to offers for him, they would have to be much higher than this figure. And if he sings and plays like Napoli, whoever wants him will have to pay a lot of money,” at the level of fair play“When it comes to evaluating a possible departure from De Jong. In other words, the club does not hide the fact that the Dutchman is a key sporting asset in focusing on the planning of the coming years, which will also depend on the search for income. in the form of sponsorship or agreement with the CVC fund to take advantage of the LaLiga Impulso plan. “It’s been a long time since we should have agreed with CVC. It would have saved us a lot of trouble, “he said.
When considering possible sales to help build a project, Barça must take into account the amortization of each player. If, as with De Jong, the outstanding figure is high, the supply must be even higher to generate capital gains. The same is not true of home-grown footballers – such as Ansu Fati -, acquired at low cost – such as Pedri -, voluntarily devalued – such as Coutinho – or free transfer transfers – such as Memphis. With Ansu, as ARA explained, a sale was planned last summer that Mateu Alemany stopped. And with Coutinho and Memphis, as everything they earn for them will be counted as a profit, they will try to make money this summer. The Brazilian is being reborn at Aston Villa, where he plays on loan, while the Dutchman ends his contract in 2023 and suddenly has a lot of competition.
