Barcelona’s scouting network is known to extract world class players from somewhere or the other. They may have found a breed comparable to Xavi and Deco now.
Barcelona have been the front runners of late in their quest in signing Ajax Amsterdam duo Mattijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong. The Dutchmen are two bright talents and Barcelona will be at a huge benefit if they sign both the players and de Jong in particular. The 21-year-old has been impressive with Amsterdam and been doing really well for the Netherlands’ national team as well.
Barcelona’s assistant manager and former Ajax Amsterdam coach Henk ten Cate has compared the youngster now to the likes of Deco and Xavi, saying that he is a crossover of the two Barcelona legends. “It cannot be compared, De Jong can be a mixture of Deco and Xavi, but he is De Jong,” Ten Cate told Mundo Deportivo . “It is always difficult to compare players. Both Xavi and Deco were from another planet, De Jong has the talent, but he must still prove it and that his injuries are respected.”
“They are two very talented players, although talent alone does not decide anything. Both have talent and a good head, and that is very important,” he added. “The logical thing is that they leave Ajax this season and I think it’s the best decision for their careers. Here the league is too easy and they need a more competitive competition.
I think that with their age they are players who need to play every week and the chances of playing at Barca are not so great. When someone arrives at Barca they have to be ready. My opinion is that Barça will sign them but transfer them to another club so that they can get experience at the highest level, but not at Barca. They are players with a lot of quality but to grow they need to play, not be on the bench.”
Author’s Take
As ten Cate said, Barcelona must wrap up signings of the Dutch duo as quickly as they can when their transfer worth remains low. There are other suitors, but the players will certainly prefer Barcelona.
