Barcelona have already pulled off one of the coups of 2019 with the €75 million (£65.3 million) purchase of Frenkie de Jong from Ajax.The 21-year-old was on the radar of both Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain but opted to join the Catalan giants instead back in January.However, the deal arranged between Barça and Ajax meant De Jong will spend the rest of the 2018-19 campaign at the Johan Cruijff ArenA, before moving to the Camp Nou in the summer.The gifted midfielder has already endeared himself to his club’s new fans by helping to dump Real Madrid out of the Champions League earlier this month.Although Dusan Tadic grabbed the headlines after his magnificent performance in Ajax’s remarkable 4-1 win at the Bernabeu on March 5, De Jong also caught the eye that night.
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Barça fans particularly enjoyed the way he skilfully beat Luka Modric, the current holder of the Ballon d’Or award, on a couple of occasions.
He looked completely at home playing at the Bernabeu, which bodes will for Barça. He certainly won’t be fazed when playing in his first Clasico next season.
On Sunday night, De Jong once again impressed, this time on the international stage - even though his Netherlands side were beaten 3-2 by Germany in Amsterdam.
He couldn’t go the full 90 minutes without embarrassing a Real Madrid player - and it came on stoppage-time against Toni Kroos.
De Jong received the ball on the right touchline and performed a full 360-degree turn, leaving Kroos spinning.
Watch it here…
Superb.
He’s like a more dynamic version of Sergio Busquets in those tight spaces - and, yes, we know that’s very high praise.
De Jong also showed his quality at the opposite end of the pitch in the first half.
After an uncharacteristic sloppy pass, the Dutchman made amends with an inch-perfect tackle to win back possession.
Watch it here…
And here are some of his stats from the game…
He’s the real deal, alright.