How can Barcelona make Frenkie de Jong an even better player? Zubimendi’s arrival is the key

Barcelona fans are worried. This is due to their club’s growing interest in a player named Martín Zubimendi and the possible role of Frenkie de Jong. However, if the Catalan big club buys the 23-year-old San Sebastian native, the Dutchman’s importance to the Xavi-led team will be much more crucial.

One crucial fact must be taken into account. Sooner or later, Sergio Busquets will leave. While Zubimendi could be a natural replacement. His arrival would be an ideal opportunity to change Barcelona’s system. Frenkie and Zubimendi together in the starting lineup could be a win.

With this condition, Barcelona must switch to a 3-4-3 formation, which is the formation Xavi played with at Al-Sadd. It’s the best way to deal with high pressure after losing the ball. In addition, it allows for more game variations and minimizes the space between players, giving the opponent much less time with the ball in their own half.

We can see similar play in Real Sociedad matches.

The 3-4-3 formation will help the Blaugranas to have Frenkie, Zubimendi, Pedri and Gavi in the lineup together. The latter two could operate with much more freedom on the pitch between the lines, with Frenkie and Zubimendi providing the play as two withdrawn midfielders, better said on a double pivot. A balanced midfield with players who complement each other.

Why is Zubimendi the key to it all? We need to start talking about his impact on the defensive phase. The 2020 Summer Olympics Tokyo bronze medalist is an elite midfielder when it comes to anticipating situations on the pitch. He reads the game well, which is why he has more tackles than 92% of midfielders in the top 5 European leagues.

Not only that, but he also wins 3/4 of aerial duels. He ranks in the top 5% in the top 5 leagues among midfielders (per 90 minutes). Zubimendi is literally rock solid defensively. Great in individual duels. After all, anticipation is also one of Busquets’ greatest strengths.

The Basque has become reliable on the ball and is solid if we’re talking about progressive passes besides. Real Sociedad has quality players like David Silva and Takefuso Kubo. Their teammate Zubimendi can find them with hidden passes between the lines. The diamond formation of this team requires a midfielder, which is what this text is talking about.

If we want to see the best version of Frenkie, he needs a certain amount of freedom. As the only pivot, he needs to be the first man in front of the defense. His ability to bring the ball out is his greatest strength and with Zubimendi alongside him, he can be much more crucial and creative in the Catalan big man’s game.

Zubimendi is better defensively than Frenkie. He has the perfect profile for Barcelona when combined with the Dutch international. It is true that the Blaugranas would be more vulnerable on the flanks, but they would make up for this weakness with high attacking play. In addition, Ronald Araújo and Jules Kounde are well equipped physically and should handle the open space created.

Source: Twitter