Could De Jong's new position give him hope of a Barcelona stay?
Karan Tejwani
- 22 Oct 2022 16:45 BST
- 4 min read
Frenkie de Jong’s future is still uncertain amid rumours of interest carrying on into the January transfer window with Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea interested in him.
Manchester United spent 17 weeks in the summer trying to sign him but failed to do so towards the end, but Erik ten Hag is still keen on bringing his former player in.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are the latest team to enter the race, having seen their midfield struggle in recent times due to quality and injuries in their side.
READ: The price Man Utd would pay for Frenkie de Jong in January
Now, De Jong has been playing in a different position, and that may give him hope of furthering his career at the Camp Nou with Barcelona.
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De Jong has been playing in the deeper midfield role lately and there are suggestions he could be the successor to Sergio Busquets, who is set to leave the club this summer.
That may give him some encouragement of extending his Barcelona career and Xavi has been speaking about his future in that role.
READ: Bayern deal Man Utd blow for potential De Jong alternative
The manager said: “Because of his potential, I see him more as an interior (further forward), although he’s very good in defence. I think he can be differential at an offensive level…the other day he had a great game [against Villarreal].
“He has to be important, I like him and he has tremendous potential. I see that when the game is front of him he sees it better. You have to play him facing the opposition.”
Thanks to our fans for the great atmosphere 🏟️ we needed this win 💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/nwIOp3FNxP
— Frenkie de Jong (@DeJongFrenkie21) October 21, 2022
“It changes more in terms of how the opposition plays. The other day Frenkie was the free man and he understood that well, he managed to get on the ball a lot. Many times that position is marked.”
De Jong was then compared to Busquets and Xavi was asked whether he can be the Catalan midfielder’s successor in the long run.
“In the pivote position there are a lot of things to consider, you have to do a lot of things defensively, to make covering runs. You have to choose the right pass to get out. Frenkie did well.”
“Then Busquets is a master. He knows where to be all the time, he robs the ball, for me Busi will continue to be important.”
De Jong’s preference has always been to stay at Barcelona and he got that wish in the summer, but will be hoping that can continue into next season.
