Due to recent performances many fans have started calling Dutch man Frenkie De Jong a flop at Barcelona.
Frenkie De Jong joined Barca last season from Ajax for a whopping sum of 65M. He was instrumental in the Ajax squad which steamrolled their way to UCL semi-final. However he hasn’t been as influential at Barca as he was at Ajax.
However stats tell a completely different story. In his debut season De Jong had a passing accuracy of 92% completing a total of 1502 passes. He created 27 chances and gave 25 key passes. He succeeded in 81% of his dribbles completing 46 dribbles. He also put in a quite decent defensive shift with 9 clearances and 21 interceptions.
Under Ernesto Valverde and Quique Setien,De Jong mostly played as a textbook central midfielder who dictates the play. Under Ronald Koeman- Frenkie has played both in an offensive role and also as an anchor man. Playing in an offensive role has payed off for De Jong as he has already created 20 chances and given 19 key passes. He has a passing accuracy of 90% completing 913 passes. He also has completed 93% of his dribbles which is excellent. When played in a defensive role De Jong has performed equally well. He has blocked 2 shots, has 13 clearances and has 10 interceptions.
He recently chipped in with a goal against league leaders Real Sociedad and also gave an assist vs Levante which helped Barca to 2 crucial victories. While due to his rate of goal scoring he can be criticized but he can never be considered as a flop. The position he plays in is not the position from where he can be a prolific goalscorer. He has been instrumental in Barca’s midfield and is a big part of The Blaugrana’s future.