3 Things That Will Happen At FC Barcelona because of De Jong's arrival
Much to the delight of the fans of the Catalan Giants, Barcelona announced the signing of Frenkie de Jong for €75 million, the Ajax midfielder set to join on a five-year deal for the start of the 2019-20 season.
Previously linked with Manchester City, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, the Dutch prodigy has opted for Camp Nou but will remain in the Eredivisie for the rest of the campaign.
Barca have agreed to pay a potential €11 million in variables for the 21-year-old midfielder, who has helped Ajax reach the last 16 of the Champions League this season.
De Jong has developed into one of the hottest talents in European football and it is Barca who have won the race for his signature. It is, however, unquestionable that his arrival would have impact on many several things at Barcelona.
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#1 Completion of a midfield trio suitable for Tika-Taka Football
It is no secret that Valverde wants to properly implement the 4-3-3 formation in order to play Tika-Taka, the beautiful football FC Barcelona prides itself on. Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets were probably the best midfield trio the Catalan Giants have ever had, and they played the Tika-Taka to perfection. Both Xavi and Iniesta have left the club leaving a huge void to fill.
While the process of filling Xavi's boots is underway with the arrival of Arthur Melo, Iniesta is yet to be replaced. Coutinho was supposed to replace him but he is not suited for midfield. Rakitic, who has been a good performer for the Cules, is just not suitable for Tika-Taka football. Moreover, the promising Alena is too young and inexperienced to start for the club. This is where de Jong will help.
De Jong is a really talented player who has all the qualities needed for an FC Barcelona midfielder: passing, vision, positional discipline, spatial awareness and resistance to pressing. With proper guidance, he may one day become as good as Barcelona's legendary midfielders. Also, there is almost no doubt that he will be better than Rakitic at the LCM position.
With Busquets at defensive midfield position and Arthur reminding us of Xavi, De Jong can be the missing piece in a midfield which could potentially be as good as the trio we all used to watch in awe.