It is harder for Frenkie de Jong to play for Barcelona than for the Netherlands. Are Busquets limiting his strengths?

Frenkie de Jong certainly did not perform optimally after Xavi’s arrival on the Barcelona bench. Understandably, speculation about his possible departure began to swirl for a simple reason. According to many, he is unable to adapt and find his place in the midfield.

First of all, we need to be clear about Frenkie’s main weapon – bringing the ball out. The 25-year-old midfielder is nothing short of exceptional in this game. Simply taking the ball from defenders and bringing it forward as far as possible into the attacking half.

He does this for the simple reason to help the team escape the attack and break down the opposition’s defence. In the past season, he played a total of 33 games for Barcelona, in which he brought the ball out on 199 occasions, an incredible average of six brought out per game.

However, if he receives a pass, he is able to continue to deal with it. In a recent interview, he said himself that he likes to be the first player to get the ball from defenders. This is difficult because the Barcelona club plays in a 4-3-3 formation and often these balls go through Sergio Busquets first. We saw this ideally in the last game between the Netherlands and Belgium.

Frenkie received the ball easily from the left side, but deep in his own half. For Barcelona, he gets the ball on his hoof further from his own goal. Legitimately, this limits his space and movement on the pitch. He doesn’t have enough of it to send the ball forward to other players. He has to struggle to find space and receive the ball in tight spaces. Often under a lot of pressure from the opposition.

Why can’t we just play Barcelona at defensive midfielder? It won’t work in a 4-3-3 formation. He has to act as a shield in front of the defence and cannot leave his position often. In other words, he won’t be able to use his ability to balance the ball.

However, if Xavi can combine his game with Franck Kessie or Nico on a double pivot, we might see an even better version of Frenkie. Otherwise, fans of the Catalan big club can hope that the Dutchman adapts to a slightly different position than he prefers.

Frenkie is not a bad player as a central, box-to-box midfielder. He doesn’t play badly, nor does he play below average. We just probably won’t see him in that position at the top high level we may be used to from the national team.

Source: Twitter