Of course, he's not in his prime anymore. I replied to Mystats mentioning that he thought highlights from prime Busquets were, similarly to De Jong's, relatively modest. I don't know about everyone else, but I think the exceptional talent is quite a lot more apparent when you watch videos of Busquets in his prime. Then again, not a fair comparison.

Busquets made penetrative passes between the lines which advanced the play in a non-trivial way:



Never seen any of that with De Jong. De Jong plays the easy sideway pass 10 out of 10 times.



Stop the video at 3 seconds. You would expect any midfielder in the world to make the easy 6 yard pass to Messi. Instead he finds Suarez.

I always forget how annoyingly great Busquets is at passing a fking ball.

@futbol, perhaps start watching full games instead of 2 minute highlights where a bunch of plays are not included, omitted and cut out. I know it's easier and fits your agenda but make the effort.

Also how the fuck is a comparison with Busquets fair? Compare him to Casemiro if you want to make a point. Busquets is an incredible once in a generation talent, a freak. Come on.

If we compare to Busi/Xavi/Iniesta, then yes, everyone is inferior and below par. You made your point?

Myesyats wrote:@futbol, perhaps start watching full games instead of 2 minute highlights where a bunch of plays are not included, omitted and cut out. I know it's easier and fits your agenda but make the effort.

Also how the fuck is a comparison with Busquets fair? Compare him to Casemiro if you want to make a point. Busquets is an incredible once in a generation talent, a freak. Come on.

If we compare to Busi/Xavi/Iniesta, then yes, everyone is inferior and below par. You made your point?

You started the Busquets comparison by claiming that he didn't look good in highlight videos either. Which I proved wrong. You can make countless hours of highlights of Busquets' passing between the lines. Other than how a player positions himself off the ball, you see everything in a proper full highlights compilation, "watch the full game" is a lame cop out. Does anything happen in a game which you cannot capture in a video?

Of course De Jong can still be a good player who can work out at Barca but an € 80M midfielder (even in this market) he is not, I have now watched him every time since we bought him. There is nothing special there, his passing in particular is average, only his ball retention looks Barca quality. Like Coutinho he looks like just another part from a good collective.

Not as bad as Coutinho. Coutinho doesn't have the brains to play the Barça way, he'll never get any better unless a super coach like Guardiola manages him with methodic movements and tasks. De Jong on the other hand has been brought up and grown playing this style of football so he'll fit in much better than Coutinho. He's just nothing special, that's all.

danyjr wrote:De Jong on the other hand has been brought up and grown playing this style of football so he'll fit in much better than Coutinho. He's just nothing special, that's all.

I almost never agree with you but this describes it perfectly. He's been part of the "Barca way" environment but doesn't stand out at all. You would have to stretch the truth a lot if you'd claim De Jong was among Ajax' top 5 important players in this CL run.

From highlights i thought he was Arthur. Great at holding ball and making side passes. The thing is Arthur is proven in Barca, but De Jong looks like Arthur in farmers league, so what he will look like in more difficult environment?

futbol wrote:I almost never agree with you.

I'm honoured

Feel so sorry for FDJ and the Ajax players. Still maintain that they are/were the best team in the competition and deserved to win.

FDJ had a great CL campaign with standout performances against Madrid and Juve. Thought he had an outstanding first half today both on the ball and defensively. Faded in the second half as Tottenham overloaded the midfield but I didnt see him completely disappear.
I have no doubts about his quality whatsoever. He will be a significant upgrade on Busquets who is frankly a complete liability in the CL given the way we set up.

Thimmy wrote:De Ligt has occasionally impressed me when I’ve watched Ajax play - especially, considering his age. I think you’d be lucky to get him.

I hope he turns you down, man. You can have all the De Jongs you like, but I'd really hate to see you acquire a young, and already competent defender who's got a decade of time to improve and gain more experience. Pique better veto the transfer

Unlikely we get him. His fee is somewhere around 90 million Euros + hidden payments to Raiola (probably in the region of 40 million Euros like Pogba).

Unless someone is dumb enough to pay us € 100M for Coutinho.

I didn't realize his agent was Raiola. Ugh. Well, I guess that's a good thing

His agent is Barry Hulshoff

Anyways only know him from his matches vs Spurs and he has not shown Barca level or potential in either one

BarrileteCosmico wrote:His agent is Barry Hulshoff

Anyways only know him from his matches vs Spurs and he has not shown Barca level or potential in either one

That may be true, but I've watched him a few times in the league and he's about as solid as it gets for such a young player. It's fair to argue that he doesn't quite look exceptional enough, but defenders of his ilk are few and far between. I also don't think your current defenders are "Barca level", for that exact reason. Umtiti looked bright at the start, but his future looks to be up in the air right now. Man United would really benefit from having a defender with his composure and assuredness.

I don't know if Raiola is his permanent agent but right now he is the one pulling the strings for De Ligt's transfer:

https://sportbild.bild.de/fussball/international/fussball/mino-raiola-matthijas-de-ligt-fc-barcelona-barca-61572960.sport.html

Fk its depressing reading this thread, so De Jong doesnt sound that exciting to us....

De Ligt by the sound of the huge money asked may probably end up at PSG/Man C/Real

BarrileteCosmico wrote:

Anyways only know him from his matches vs Spurs and he has not shown Barca level or potential in either one

He did bottle though. Makes me think he would fit perfectly.

No reason to be depressed. De Jong is a fairly solid, young player who will likely improve over time. I just don't personally see the amazing potential that would justify the hype. His playing style is quite distinctive to him, and I'm sure he can become a lot better if he keeps polishing his skill set. That remains to be seen, though. How do I put it.. I don't think Ajax will have any issues replacing De Jong, but I know for certain that they can't easily replace De Ligt. Not because De Ligt is some crazy talented, technically gifted ninja, but because he has the basic qualities you want in a top defender, and then some. De Jong will have a lot to prove considering his position on the pitch requires more than simply being a solid allrounder.

danyjr wrote:

BarrileteCosmico wrote:

Anyways only know him from his matches vs Spurs and he has not shown Barca level or potential in either one

He did bottle though. Makes me think he would fit perfectly.

he also scored so perhaps we are getting our own version of Ramos?

No reason to doubt FDJ. He is an exceptional young midfielder. Kid has the talent to be the defining midfielder of his generation.

Another good performance from him can't wait till EV ruins him.

Winter is Coming wrote:Another good performance from him can't wait till EV ruins him.

You're referring to De Ligt, right?

Thimmy wrote:

Winter is Coming wrote:Another good performance from him can't wait till EV ruins him.

You're referring to De Ligt, right?

This is de Jong thread hence speaking about his performance

Nevertheless outside the PK he gave away he was fantastic.

Has adapted like a fish to water in the friendlies and has been a breath of fresh air compared to Busquets. Looks born to play for us. He plays like Xavi a bit in the sense that he needs and demands that positional freedom. Xavi was unleashed under Pep because Pep gave him positional freedom. Xavi had freedom to roam both vertically and horizontally and it allowed him to dominate midfield like no one before and after. FDJ is the same. He always wants the ball and wants positional freedom. He is not afraid of moving into areas outside his positional realm to get free of markers and receive the ball.

| Frenkie de Jong highlights vs Napoli, 10/08/2019.

pic.twitter.com/2P8dvbW7ae

— Frenkie Chief (@FrenkieStats) 11 sierpnia 2019

Boss. Most successful passes [72] and most balls recovered [8]