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Frenkie de Jong: “Barcelona will make an important place for me in the squad”

By Chiranjib Ghosh

Frenkie de Jong of Ajax during the Dutch Toto KNVB Cup match between Ajax Amsterdam and sc Heerenveen at the Johan Cruijff Arena on January 24, 2019 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)
Frenkie de Jong of Ajax during the Dutch Toto KNVB Cup match between Ajax Amsterdam and sc Heerenveen at the Johan Cruijff Arena on January 24, 2019 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images) /
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Barcelona have made certain promises to Frenkie de Jong

Paris Saint-Germain were very close to signing Frenkie de Jong, with promises of a huge salary and a guaranteed place in the first-team. Eventually, the Parisians failed to reach an agreement with Ajax and Barcelona swooped in to secure the signature of the young Dutchman.

Of course, Barça successfully negotiated a deal with Ajax sporting director Marc Overmars. But the Blaugrana could not seal the deal without making certain commitments to the Netherlands international, in order to match the tempting offer from PSG.

"De Jong said, “I know that it will be difficult to break into the first-team, but the club have said all of the right things and have made it clear that I will get my chance.”"

This can mean only one thing: that an important first-team player will be leaving the club in the upcoming transfer window. But that promise seems like an unwise call, on part of Josep Maria Bartomeu and the other members of the club delegation who travelled to Amsterdam.

The player in question is none other than Ivan Rakitić, who is underrated by the Barça management despite having given so much to the club. The 30-year old Croatian playmaker did have one off season under Luis Enrique, but has excelled in all other seasons.

Moreover, he was the best player of the team last season, apart from Lionel Messi. Even though the former Sevilla midfielder is turning 31 this year, he still has a lot to offer to the club. Rakitić cannot be replaced by an inexperienced player just like that.

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In fact, Rakitić can act as a mentor to Frenkie de Jong, helping him to fit into Ernesto Valverde’s tactical setup. Instead, the club is looking to ship him off in a deal that is unlikely to bring in any profit. If players are to be offloaded, it should be done when they are still valuable in the market.

The more prudent policy would be to slowly phase out the players who are ageing instead of a sudden decision to introduce inexperienced, albeit talented players, into the first-team without any period of transition between the consecutive generations of footballers.

For De Jong to get playing time, no major departures are required. The club is going to get rid of André Gomes, Denis Suárez, Arda Turan and Rafinha, reducing competition in midfield. The Dutchman can compete with the ageing Arturo Vidal for game time.

That is going to end only one way, with Vidal’s move away from Europe. On the other hand, Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitić would also start declining due to age, opening up a potential first-team spot for Frenkie de Jong.

Next. Girona vs Barça: Expected Starting XI. dark

So, Barcelona should not rush into a hasty decision that it will come to regret later.

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