The wheel turned for the first time at the end of last January;

Surprising news spread about Bayern Munich's desire to sign De Jong.

The most important source here was a report published in the American "Forbes", and for obvious reasons, many did not take it seriously despite its rationality, then the signals followed in succession, beginning with the assertions of the Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano about Bayern's official inquiry about the Dutchman, and then Julian Nagelsmann's statements in April / Nissan expressed its desire to include the Barcelona midfielder, to prove that the smoke of "Forbes" was not without fire.

(1) (2)

Now it has become closer to reality after a live broadcast by Catalan journalist Gerard Romero, in which he claimed that De Jong's transfer to Manchester United has been 95% completed, increasing the chances of the player meeting with his former coach Eric Ten Hag, who will lead the Red Devils from the line starting next season. .

(3)

Manchester United are on the verge of signing Frenkie de Jong, according to Gerard Romero 📝 pic.twitter.com/tPI7NPfUGi

— GOAL (@goal) May 12, 2022

This means that Barcelona will neglect the only player who represented the middle generation between the old guard (Busquets) and the young youth (Pedre, Jaffe and Nico) to become very extreme and, most importantly, insufficient, even with the expected arrival of Franck Casey from Milan in a transfer deal. free.

(4)

A breakthrough into the past

Frinki arrived in Barcelona in 2019 and is the best midfielder in Europe, at least according to the European Union, UEFA, who awarded him the award after his wonderful performances with Ajax in the 2018-2019 Champions League, reaching the semi-finals, and regardless of his overwhelming love for Barcelona, ​​which does not tire of confirming Regardless of the historical relations between the two clubs, the deal was remarkable because it was the first time Bartomeu had spent such a figure on a player who was not in the offensive line.

(5)

In addition to De Jong's potential that impressed everyone with Ajax, this was the only special thing about the deal;

FC Barcelona had no idea how to take advantage of the Dutchman on the field, nor about the most appropriate role for him, nor about the radical tactical and technical differences between Ten Hag's plan and playing style and Valverde's economic football.

In fact, we are almost certain that no one consulted with Valverde before joining De Jong in the first place, and as usual in most Barcelona deals during the era of Bartomeu, the man signed a player, and the fans signed another player, and a third player came to Barcelona.

De Jong, who was contracted by the Barcelona fans, is the successor to Busquets, the player who will change the shape of the Blaugrana midfield from the base of the fulcrum, and his best advantages appear in the defensive third and during the construction stages, as he escapes from pressure with his deceptive evasions, not to mention the belief that his speed will help him in many transformational situations that are incapable Busquets.

De Jong's signing Bartomeu is another fan deal that happens to be active in midfield rather than attacking.

De Jong's signing Bartomeu is another fan deal that happens to be active in midfield rather than attacking.

At one point, the Dutchman became a real star, and his inclusion would have given Bartomeu more support and popularity among the team's supporters, in addition to making them forget the Verratti disaster that was the beginning of the end.

Back to the future

On the other hand, the real de Jong was different from all of the above;

A player who had never played the pivot alone, and even when he was relegated to the first third to help the team during construction, Ten Hag was using him as a third defender on the left at this point, as a way to overcome the weakness of Tagliafico - the left-back - under pressure, so De Jong was He occupies his space in an attempt to move the opponent's elements and empty the space for the Argentine, and if that did not happen and the opponent committed to the reference of the space, de Jong was able to receive freely and practice what he liked;

Carry the ball forward and break lines with dribbling and combination duos.

(6) (7)

The most important thing is that Ajax's defensive solidity in transitions was due to the fierce reverse pressure that the team applied at the closest point to the ball, depriving the opponent of passing options and direct progress, not running behind transformations using physical strength and speed, meaning that De Jong was missing the only defensive advantage that was Barcelona fans think he came to add it;

De Jong wasn't an experienced player at all, except in this way.

This is a recurring pattern in the region;

A player comes expected from him for specific performance and certain advantages, and after several months everyone discovers that they have not seen him at all, and have not studied his performance to a sufficient degree, and perhaps they did not know the simplest axioms about his career or the extent of his efficiency in what is required of him.

Coutinho, Griezmann, and before them Andre Gomes, Serginho Dust and Yerry Mina, players that the public and the administration built their expectations on them through YouTube summaries and some collected clips, and the same was repeated with De Jong, who did not play the role of Busquets for once in his career, but always participated with the Danish Las Schöne In the middle of the field, who was entrusted with covering up his rapid turns and transformations from defense to attack, and Van de Beek, who enjoys greater freedom than everyone else, helped them in a work system different from the one in Barcelona in terms of individuals, approach and characteristics, if it was permissible to name what was Barcelona introduces it as a "work system" to begin with.

(8)

De Jong did not play the role of Busquets once in his career, but always participated with the Danish Las Schöne in the middle of the field, who was entrusted with covering up his breakthroughs and rapid transformations from defense to attack.

The result is that the young man, who was followed by 4 coaches in 3 seasons, during which the team presented its worst performances since the beginning of the millennium, and won only one title in the King’s Cup, became seen as the problem, not the solution, and became booed whenever he went out for a change and the team lost, because One of the symptoms of the policy of galacticos that Bartomeu quoted from his rival Florentino Perez in Real Madrid is that the fans feel that one player is able to tip their hand, and that salvation is in his hands, and, accordingly, they are frustrated when he does not, and immediately begin to search for another remedy for the problems deeply rooted in the club’s structure .

This idea is the beginning of the thread that will lead us to the real reasons for selling Frenkie Donna. Over time, the player turned into Griezmann's equivalent in the middle of the field;

A big deal that brought out huge expectations that she never succeeded in fulfilling.

This is the impression left by all the technical, tactical and administrative chaos over the previous seasons.

Techniques and Techniques of Politics

In his analysis, Dermot Corrigan, The Athletic's La Liga editor, believes that there are two main reasons why De Jong specifically chose a sale as likely to happen. Other young Lamasia emerging.

(9)

This is important for Laporta at this particular moment, after his failure to fulfill most of his electoral promises, the departure of Messi, and the inability to sign any big star until this moment, led by, of course, Erling Haaland, who the president hinted more than once to being a great possibility due to his close relations with his agent The recently deceased Mino Raiola.

From this angle, the sale seems to be highly political.

(10) (11)

Despite all the difficulties that the Dutchman went through in Catalonia, everyone knows that a large part of the problem is not in his capabilities or abilities, but in Catalonia itself.

The second obvious reason is the fact that De Jong may be the most salable first-team player at the moment, and for a significant amount.

The irony here is that the reason why it is salable is the same reason that would make it a candidate to stay in any other club that does not go through the same difficult financial conditions, which is that despite all the difficulties that the Dutchman went through in Catalonia, everyone knows that a large part of the problem is not in his capabilities or His abilities, but also in Catalonia itself, and there is great confidence from the likes of Eric Ten Hag, Mauricio Pochettino and Pep Guardiola in their ability to restore his luster.

Yes, we forgot to tell you that Man City and Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in acquiring his services.

(12) (13)

In fact, this was the reason why his father made this statement last December to a Dutch newspaper, especially after Laporta came out to say that De Jong needed to present himself better to say: “I know that Barcelona need money, and I know that an offer Big for Frenkie will help them, but I don't expect that to happen."

(9)

Important in this context are the conservative statements made by a number of club officials.

After defeating Rayo Vallecano last month, club technical director Jordi Cruyff stated that "Frinke is a very appreciated player from the club, and from the market".

This is a statement that opens the door to all possibilities, as you can see, and when Xavi was asked about the future of the Dutchman a few days ago, he chose his words wisely, declaring that "Franke is a very important player and I have always confirmed that."

Sayeh's statement, stop in the text https://t.co/yrELvlip9A

— Medhat Lotfy (@BolbolMedhat) May 14, 2022

This is what conveys the general feeling that everyone wants to shirk the responsibility of selling the Dutchman.

Everyone confirms its importance, and the player himself confirmed his happiness in Catalonia and his desire to continue more than once, and no one wants to appear as the reason for his departure.

In fact, if we resort to abstract reasoning, the original real reason for De Jong's departure - if it happened - would be Bartomeu.

bet.. gamble

Rick Sharma, a journalist for Goal, who also specializes in Spanish football, believes that there is an additional reason for choosing De Jong in particular, which is the fact that Xavi Hernandez, and the management behind him, believe that the midfield is somewhat secured in the near future, He could bear De Jong's absence without much trouble, relying on the rising trio of Pedri, Jaffe and Nico Gonzalez, in addition to the newcomer on a free transfer from Milan, Frank Casey.

(5)

The latter was famous for his huge defensive effort, especially in chasing transformations, in addition to his ability to surprise opponents with his direct vertical movements in the box and on the edges. De Jong prefers to be the player who leads the ball forward, not the one who waits for it to arrive.

In any case, the Dutchman played the role well, and had several important contributions in difficult matches, but the problem is that relying on 5 midfielders for a whole season (Busquets, Pedri, Jaffe, Nico and Kessier) may be difficult, especially if Barcelona continues in the 4- 3-3 holy.

Pedri is injured regularly, Nico has not set his feet yet, Jaffe is suspended every month, and Busquets, like most of his over thirty players, is like a time bomb that may explode at any time to announce her inability to continue at the same pace.

From this angle, selling de Jong seems closer to gambling than to betting, especially since there is a psychological aspect that the management in Barcelona may ignore, which is the fact that the Dutchman was attracting a lot of criticism during his presence, in a way that none of the other midfielders suffered from, as if expectations The huge deal that accompanied his deal represented a shield to protect the youngsters who are playing at this level for the first time in their career.

If De Jong leaves, the sponge that has absorbed public pressure on the midfield in recent months, this may increase pressure on the small trio, at a time when they need more quiet and safe minutes in a technical, tactical and media system that protects them and nurtures their growth and development, and from these The corner, the departure of the Dutchman may be like a small stone that rolled from its place and the mountain collapsed on everyone's heads.

______________________________________________________________

Sources:

  • Bayern Munich will bid for Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona - Forbes

  • Bayern Munich coach says he would have liked to sign De Jong - Barca Universal

  • Gerard Romero: "De Jong's transfer to Manchester United is 95% complete" - Barca Universal

  • Franck Kessé will join Barcelona from Milan this summer on a free transfer - The Guardian

  • The Xavi-De Jong dilemma;

    Why would Barcelona sell the Dutch for €75m this summer?

    – Goal

  • tactical analysis;

    Frenkie de Jong - Breaking The Lines

  • the next great Dutchman;

    Frenkie de Jong - Total Football Analysis

  • Galacticos New Barcelona .. What the newspapers do not tell you!

    - Al Jazeera

  • Barcelona and De Jong's dilemma in the transfer market;

    Wait or sell?

    - The Athletic

  • Barcelona elections .. if words were silver!

    - Al Jazeera

  • Laporta as president of Barcelona .. Either a miracle or nothing!

    - Al Jazeera

  • Three reasons why Barcelona sell Frenkie de Jong - Barca Universal

  • Manchester City enters the race to sign De Jong, and Barcelona asks for 100 million euros to give him up – Barca Universal