Frenkie de Jong - Part 2 - Chase Harder.

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This transfer seems inevitable. The way Ten Hag talked about it, there is no way we don't get this done at some point.
 
He's okay but I'm pretty chuffed that we got Casemiro instead. This guy as a no.6 in the PL wouldn't have worked.
 
A ball carrier with Casemiro would make our midfield so so good. De Jong fits the profile but perhaps not for that price tag.
 
SoCross said:
A ball carrier with Casemiro would make our midfield so so good. De Jong fits the profile but perhaps not for that price tag.
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At the price quoted last summer, it's still acceptable. The price inflation got worse since with us overpaid for Antony out of desperate. Chelsea with their mad spending, and Nunez so far flopped, means any sort of break through talent may now cost close to FdJ quoted fee.

The question is the same about whether he's open for the move. Also would Barcelona get greedy and ask more this time around?
 
I thought de Jong was quality in the first half yesterday. I think hes perhaps got a little lazy in that Barca team because they dominate so many games but he almost never lost the ball. Loves to dribble with it and break the press which makes such a difference. Having someone like Casemiro in front of the defence to break the press with his quick passing and ability to actually know where his teammates are before he gets the ball is great. Having someone who could carry it through the press would be amazing. Thats one thing we are lacking. Teams know they can press most of our midfield and get quite a lot of joy. Having someone like FdJ would make our lives much easier.
 
Still want us to sign him, but let’s hope he doesn’t feck us up again this coming summer.
 
croadyman said:
Can you suggest a couple of names?
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From what we know, ten Hag wants a connector in midfield, and a player like Maxence Caqueret fits the profile in the first phase of the build up. He's not as good as Frenkie de Jong when it comes to dribbling/carrying the ball but he can resist the press and be the metronome in a deeper midfield role.

And then if you also upgrade the keeper and sign a right sided CB who is strong technically and also has the ability to break the opponent's first line of pressure via dribbling/carrying the ball. Then the build up potential is going to improve considerably and opponents would think twice before overcommitting higher up the pitch.

It's about creating a team dynamic where if the midfielders are cancelled out then a CB carrying the ball past the first line can have a similar effect and open up space.
 
RopersReturn said:
You can clearly see De Jong has bags of potential as demonstrated by some lovely long accurate passes and a natural sense of spatial awareness. I think we’ll need to work extremely hard to get him in the summer, but he’d be one hell of a player for us, especially working under Ten Hag again.
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He was poor last night but he'd be class in our system playing out from the back, baiting the press because of his technical ability and vision. Set up very fast counter-attack opportunities. Get that sorted; get another midfielder like Caicedo in for steel and a touch of class ahead of Fred/McTominay, and get a right back and a CF in and we're golden.
 
That one dribble cutting through tbe entire midfield and that 1 touch throughball to Lewa were 2 flashes of his brilliance last night, but he is still a bit of a fair weather player.

And my god, he's so whingy everytime the ref blows against him.
 
Adnan said:
From what we know, ten Hag wants a connector in midfield, and a player like Maxence Caqueret fits the profile in the first phase of the build up. He's not as good as Frenkie de Jong when it comes to dribbling/carrying the ball but he can resist the press and be the metronome in a deeper midfield role.

And then if you also upgrade the keeper and sign a right sided CB who is strong technically and also has the ability to break the opponent's first line of pressure via dribbling/carrying the ball. Then the build up potential is going to improve considerably and opponents would think twice before overcommitting higher up the pitch.

It's about creating a team dynamic where if the midfielders are cancelled out then a CB carrying the ball past the first line can have a similar effect and open up space.
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Would Caqueret not be a bit of a lightweight in the EPL? That's my main concern with him. Another young player we should look at with that sort of profile is Kouadio Kone, a diamond of a young player that is only going to get better. Talk is that Liverpool are looking to get him if they aren't able to recruit Bellingham.
 
Kingslayer18 said:
Would Caqueret not be a bit of a lightweight in the EPL? That's my main concern with him. Another young player we should look at with that sort of profile is Kouadio Kone, a diamond of a young player that is only going to get better. Talk is that Liverpool are looking to get him if they aren't able to recruit Bellingham.
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It's possible Caqueret could be deemed as being lightweight for the EPL.

Kone I haven't watched this season but from what I remember he's good at carrying the ball but his passing isn't progressive and a lot of his passes are very safe ones. And I don't think he's the correct profile of player for the connector role ten Hag spoke about.
 
really hope we can still get him

would be perfect for our midfield and really help us dominate games
 
Starting to remind me of Pogba where everybody’s convinced he’s a world class player if only this or that happened, while ignoring the elephant in the room that he just doesn’t seem that motivated.
 
elmo said:
Starting to remind me of Pogba where everybody’s convinced he’s a world class player if only this or that happened, while ignoring the elephant in the room that he just doesn’t seem that motivated.
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Agreed, every time I’ve seen him play he’s been largely anonymous, last night included.
Don’t see what all the fuss is about personally.
 
KirkDuyt said:
That one dribble cutting through tbe entire midfield and that 1 touch throughball to Lewa were 2 flashes of his brilliance last night, but he is still a bit of a fair weather player.

And my god, he's so whingy everytime the ref blows against him.
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Is that an issue with him in/for Holland?

I keep banging on about how tepid he is because he has the ability to make a mark every time he steps onto a pitch, but doesn't even try to beyond a certain point (when the game gets difficult), which is a red flag because he should be getting stronger in this regard with age, but seems to be going backwards with it.
 
Fortitude said:
Is that an issue with him in/for Holland?

I keep banging on about how tepid he is because he has the ability to make a mark every time he steps onto a pitch, but doesn't even try to beyond a certain point (when the game gets difficult), which is a red flag because he should be getting stronger in this regard with age, but seems to be going backwards with it.
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Well, I feel he tends not to be the person to rise up when the going gets tough. It's not necessarily a reason to write him off, since not every world class player needs this trait, but he doesnt have that never say die attitude of you ask me.

Still, he has been consistently great for Barca since a bit before the world cup and would be an amazing fit for your midfield.
 
KirkDuyt said:
Well, I feel he tends not to be the person to rise up when the going gets tough. It's not necessarily a reason to write him off, since not every world class player needs this trait, but he doesnt have that never say die attitude of you ask me.

Still, he has been consistently great for Barca since a bit before the world cup and would be an amazing fit for your midfield.
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First sentence is the feeling I'm getting more and more from him, which is so strange given how driven and a leader he was at such a young age. Perhaps that part of his personality has been put in a box, or maybe it's a case of adjusting to the player he is now.

Is he still seen as someone that can be a saviour for the NT though?
 
Fahad Jawaid said:
I think the matches against Barca will also have a big bearing on whether we are able to sign him or not.

I read it on the Barca thread that they still have alot of losses and in order to spend any cash they basically have to reduce their expenses 4 times, so they are pretty fecked and except Gavi, Pedri and Arujo I think they will sell any player if the price is right.

So us beating Barca and doing well this season may tempt him that we are doing well, we will be in champions League and also won a few cups hopefully, plus showing him we can compete and beat his side which are on the up.
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Barcelona has no need to sell him. Another thing is that if a great offer arrives they are interested in selling him.

Untouchables are Pedri, Gavi, Araujo, Koundé, Balde and Lewandowski.

Dannn411 said:
If the Qataris take over, he will be signed this summer.
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Barcelona will ask €100M. If United pay that figure Barcelona I guess will be delighted.
 
What happened to the legal threat about his contract?
His wages go up every year, don't they? The deferred wages will catch up.. He has refused a wage reduction.
Barca will try to sell him again.. hope we have moved on.. They can try and trick Chelsea..
 
Arent we missing the point that De Jong has no interest in leaving Barca?

Heard an interview the other day where he said as much.

Barca were never the obstacle. They were happy to sell.
 
I still think even based on last night hes exactly the kind of player we need. Him and Casa would be sensational together.
 
The Purley King said:
Agreed, every time I’ve seen him play he’s been largely anonymous, last night included.
Don’t see what all the fuss is about personally.
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And I dont think that has only to do with his position. Me personally, I hope we move on to another target.
 
There is zero chance he is coming to United. He loves Barcelona and wouldn't leave when they were trying to force him out and weren't playing him. Now he is one of the most important players in the team, plays all the time and Barcelona have the appearance of a club at the beginning of a successful era. Barca going bankrupt is our only hope.
 
Fortitude said:
First sentence is the feeling I'm getting more and more from him, which is so strange given how driven and a leader he was at such a young age. Perhaps that part of his personality has been put in a box, or maybe it's a case of adjusting to the player he is now.

Is he still seen as someone that can be a saviour for the NT though?
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He is by far the most important player for Oranje. It was after he became a starter that we climbed back out of the not even making it to tournaments wilderness. He's not going to singlehandedly win us any silverware though as we simply don't have any creativity or end product in the final third to really hurt the top opponents.

I don't think he was a leader for Ajax either honestly, he was the engine that ran the entire way they played, but Blind and Tadic were probably the captains on that ship.
 
Strootman's Finger said:
There is zero chance he is coming to United. He loves Barcelona and wouldn't leave when they were trying to force him out and weren't playing him. Now he is one of the most important players in the team, plays all the time and Barcelona have the appearance of a club at the beginning of a successful era. Barca going bankrupt is our only hope.
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Not really. Plenty of their fans would be happy to see him leave. They still have wage issues. And Pedri and Gavi likely need a new Busquets, if there is anyone on the planet similar. I could see Barca being very willing sellers. But again, if the player doesn't want to leave it's a moot point. That being said, I think with how the season has been going far more players are probably thinking this is a great opportunity, what with ETH's brilliant work and having a leader like Casemiro in the middle.
 
prateik said:
What happened to the legal threat about his contract?
His wages go up every year, don't they? The deferred wages will catch up.. He has refused a wage reduction.
Barca will try to sell him again.. hope we have moved on.. They can try and trick Chelsea..
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I don't think he'd get into the Chelsea midfield in all honesty. He'd be behind Enzo and Kovacic for certain, then I think the like of Kante and even Loftus Cheek bring qualities that he doesn't have (although Kante may be off). He'd be completely wasting his time by going there now.
 
Bastian said:
Not really. Plenty of their fans would be happy to see him leave. They still have wage issues. And Pedri and Gavi likely need a new Busquets, if there is anyone on the planet similar. I could see Barca being very willing sellers. But again, if the player doesn't want to leave it's a moot point. That being said, I think with how the season has been going far more players are probably thinking this is a great opportunity, what with ETH's brilliant work and having a leader like Casemiro in the middle.
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You could easily say that Xavi is starting something that seems like it's going to be big, and he could play alongside the next Xavi and Iniesta in Gavi and Pedri. And for someone that worships Barcelona that's probably more important than playing for an ex-manager and with players that he probably dislikes because they were at Real.
 
pocco said:
I don't think he'd get into the Chelsea midfield in all honesty. He'd be behind Enzo and Kovacic for certain, then I think the like of Kante and even Loftus Cheek bring qualities that he doesn't have (although Kante may be off). He'd be completely wasting his time by going there now.
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Kante and Kovacic won't be at chelsea next year.
 
forget it guys.....He's not leaving Barca, not sure why that's so hard to accept
 
Strootman's Finger said:
You could easily say that Xavi is starting something that seems like it's going to be big, and he could play alongside the next Xavi and Iniesta in Gavi and Pedri. And for someone that worships Barcelona that's probably more important than playing for an ex-manager and with players that he probably dislikes because they were at Real.
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We'll see. And I doubt he's so silly as to dislike Casemiro and Varane. Raphinia spoke in revering terms of Casemiro ahead of the game last night.
 
Bastian said:
We'll see. And I doubt he's so silly as to dislike Casemiro and Varane. Raphinia spoke in revering terms of Casemiro ahead of the game last night.
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Brazilian, Brazilians put country loyalty above club. But I do agree that FDJ's probably not an overly petty person, but I am sure Gavi and Pedri are still more appealing to him.
 
buckooo1978 said:
Arent we missing the point that De Jong has no interest in leaving Barca?

Heard an interview the other day where he said as much.

Barca were never the obstacle. They were happy to sell.
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Barca's refusal to pay the money they owed him was a huge obstacle. Perhaps he still would have refused to leave even if they had been willing to do that, or perhaps he would then have happily come. Nobody will truly ever know, but the fact that ETH chased him the entire window does make me lean towards the latter. Surely he and FDJ talked behind the scenes and he would have moved on earlier if he'd got a definitive 'not interested' answer.
 
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