I wouldn't worry about his defensive game personally, if he comes to any PL team I see him playing more as a #8 like De Bruyne, ahead of a DM.
Frenkie de Jong| Off to Barca - Confirmed
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Yeah, I think people get the impression he needs to be defensive due where he tends to pick the ball up. I'd be worried more in his dribbling ability against a proper high press in the Prem, more often than not.
I've been kinda waiting for this thread. I've seen the lad in a few games and I think he's awesome. Imagine him and Pogba in the same side! If in fact Pogba truly wants to leave (there may be a vacancy at Real if Modric leaves), I'd wager a midfield of De Jong and Tanguy Ndombele would be even better. We surely will be shedding one or two of our current midfielders in the summer.
It's a bit like Jorginho at both Napoli and Chelsea where he picks the ball up deep to distribute but once he gets it Allan/Kante provide(d) the DM cover for him. I honestly see him ending up in Spain and avoiding our league in truth.
Yeah, good example. He would definitely suit Spain more than our league, not to say he couldn’t be successful in our league mind.
Oh I agree there, you look at the success of just players like David Silva and Modric alone and I think it comes down to a will to adapt if you have the talent.
Kevin Strootman says in an interview with Voetbal International that when he returned to his club Marseille from international duty against France, the main thing the Marseille players wanted to talk about was Frenkie de Jong. 
His star is rising and rising...
His star is rising and rising...De jong reminds me of Scholes. Unbelievable talent, we can't afford to miss out talent like this guy. We could build our team around him. A must have even if it meant getting rid of pogba.
The rumours are that city are in for him now.£62 million.
What absolute rubbish. Ya sure - let's get rid of one of the most talented midfielders in the world and swap him for an unproven lad who's playing well for Ajax in the Eredivise, what could possible go wrong.....
If he’s that good and we should sign him we probably won’t. Fergie would have loved young talents like these.
Aye, not even sure why Pogba was brought into that post. We could have both and secondly, Pogba is a World Cup winning, proven CM.
And like every other technical player, Jose's and Woodwards united won't go after him, and neither he will be advised to come here as half the time we play in the air.
Look like Pereira in pre-season.
I definitely can't see him here under Mourinho, but Woodward might buy him under a different manager given the hype that is building, but by the time we jettison Mourinho we'll likely have lost too much ground on other clubs in the race for him.
Think Ajax would like to hold onto him for a season or two then sell for huge fee but both City and Barca have a pressing need for a player in his position due to existing standouts wearing down.
I expect them to work hard to get him in sooner rather than later but as I’ve said before there could well be a crazy auction for him with teams like United lurking in the background.
I expect him to be at a new club next season.
I expect them to work hard to get him in sooner rather than later but as I’ve said before there could well be a crazy auction for him with teams like United lurking in the background.
I expect him to be at a new club next season.
Both him and De Ligt are consistently being linked to Barcelona by Catalan media.
I rate pogba, but i don't believe he will ever control a game the way Scholes did or imo de jong will over the next 10 years. Ideally it would be nice to have both but i can see pogba going to barca and we getting de jong. Time will tell who is right.
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We should looking to sign these 2 players before barca or real Madrid. Serious talents.
The Spanish media have pages to fill just like the English tabloids, possibly even worse. It has been going on since the summer and the summer stories didn't come true.
Sport is a well known BS tabloid along with Mundo Deportivo and Diario Gol. They are on the banned list of tabloids that should not be used as credible sources on here but that forever gets ignored. Madrid based newspapers such as Marca and El Confidencial along with Cadena Cope are all good sources
What a player this guy is. The way he drifts through midfield with the ball stuck to his feet 
. Almost guarnteed world class player in the making imo.
. Almost guarnteed world class player in the making imo.I honestly think pereira could get close to him, just needs games. He has very similar qualities.
I've seen people suggesting he plays in our 3 man defense. Of course he'd need to be defensive.
Yeh. I was salivating of the prospect watching Pereira flourishing this season. He's type of player that you just enjoy to watch, just like Pogba.
But just like Pereira, this de Jong kid won't have any place in this United just as long as you have Mourinho as the manager.
Madrid got players like prime ozil and Modric under Mourinho, and had Alonso already with them, here we are getting physical specimen and tall players with physicality for the same manager. Such a contrast, when I think about it more the more it baffles me about absolute cluelessness there is to football after Fergie and gill stepped down together , like a rudderless ship.
Buy him for the next manager. Get rid of Matic and Herrera whilst we are at it.
Looks like a real player in the making but I wouldn’t be so sure Ajax will sell him just yet. They have been hoarding money over the last 5 years or so and are in fantastic shape financially, although Man City and the 2 Spanish giants need for a player in both De Jong and De Ligt’s positions may make that irrelevant.
These 2 are the gems of Ajax new jewels and it will take silly money to get either. I honestly doubt a combined fee of £150m being enough for the 2 of them.
De Jong has everything you need from a modern day midfielder. He seems to have grasped the hardest thing for a CM to understand at a very young age. He plays simple 1/2 touch when needed but has the ability to glide past players to get himself out of trouble and set up attacks also. Rarely makes the wrong decision.
For people who only really watch the prem I’d say De Ligt looks like a Sol Campbell / Rio Ferdinand hybrid and the real standout defender of his generation, much like Varane did when he was a teenager and that didn’t work out badly, did it? All Holland need is a better attacker than Babel and they will definitely be back in the big time soon!
These 2 are the gems of Ajax new jewels and it will take silly money to get either. I honestly doubt a combined fee of £150m being enough for the 2 of them.
De Jong has everything you need from a modern day midfielder. He seems to have grasped the hardest thing for a CM to understand at a very young age. He plays simple 1/2 touch when needed but has the ability to glide past players to get himself out of trouble and set up attacks also. Rarely makes the wrong decision.
For people who only really watch the prem I’d say De Ligt looks like a Sol Campbell / Rio Ferdinand hybrid and the real standout defender of his generation, much like Varane did when he was a teenager and that didn’t work out badly, did it? All Holland need is a better attacker than Babel and they will definitely be back in the big time soon!
I'd like Herrera to stay, he's more technical and has high work rate, I'd welcome Matic being replaced with De Jong.
I’d happily get rid of Valencia, Lindelof, Rojo, Fellaini and one of Matic, Herrera or McTominay to make room/raise some funds towards signing De Jong AND De Ligt who I think will both go on to be the best in their positions in the next 5 years.
I’m not concerned with their ages or the league they play in currently at all because they’ve performed in European competition and now also doing it at international level but most importantly of all are EXACTLY the type of players we're seriously lacking in our first team, we’re desperate for a quality ball playing centre back and a tempo dictating playmaker.
I’m not concerned with their ages or the league they play in currently at all because they’ve performed in European competition and now also doing it at international level but most importantly of all are EXACTLY the type of players we're seriously lacking in our first team, we’re desperate for a quality ball playing centre back and a tempo dictating playmaker.
Given that he will have offers from Barca, Real, City, how are we going to convince him to come here? More money?
I would encourage everyone who is curious about this kid to watch Ajax vs Benfica tonight. Those youtube video's are really nice, but you only capture the true impact he has on a match when you see him play live. He dictates the pace of the game and creates +1 situations for Ajax all over the field, either with his dribbling skills or his passing skills.
But besides his impressive technical attributes (passing both long and short, control, dribbling in such a high pace, first touch, accelleration on the ball) and his positioning attributing (always able te find the open space), what makes him a world apart from most other talents is 'his head'. This kids just love playing football the way we all played when we were 12 years old. He is so careless in his head, he really just doesn't give a feck if he starts a dribble between Pogba and Mbappe against France in his own half or against some random Eredivisie knuckleheads. The Nations League game against France was a big eye opener for the general crowd... It was his 2nd cap and everyone from NL gave him the ball as quickly as possible. He had the guts to play the same style with the same freedom in his head as any other game. And the great thing was that 98% perfect of his actions were succesfull, because he did it with so much confidence in his own skills. It was never an option for him to play differently of more carefull. When a Dutch journalist after the game confronted him with the reactions of France journalists (Was this really only his first starting performance in NL.. increable) he stated: Koeman selected because of the player I am, why should i play any differenly when I get the chance..
Another thing that sets him apart is that he dares to postpone a pass untill the right moment. How many players do you see that direclty pass towards an open teammate when they get the chance.. Frenkie can do the same thing when it's the best option, but when it's nót, he keeps the ball with him.. He dribbles untill the right moments is there (forces a defender to step out) or he just doesn't give it at all when it only a meaningless pass. He doesn't pass the pass, he passes to create plus on situations and to create chances. Thats wjhy he almost never plays sideways or backwards. His ability to postpone a pass is also a result of his believe in his own qualities that he will not loose the ball when opponents pressure him.
Watch tonight and judge for yourself. Kids like this don't come along everyday. Frenkie is a class apart...
But besides his impressive technical attributes (passing both long and short, control, dribbling in such a high pace, first touch, accelleration on the ball) and his positioning attributing (always able te find the open space), what makes him a world apart from most other talents is 'his head'. This kids just love playing football the way we all played when we were 12 years old. He is so careless in his head, he really just doesn't give a feck if he starts a dribble between Pogba and Mbappe against France in his own half or against some random Eredivisie knuckleheads. The Nations League game against France was a big eye opener for the general crowd... It was his 2nd cap and everyone from NL gave him the ball as quickly as possible. He had the guts to play the same style with the same freedom in his head as any other game. And the great thing was that 98% perfect of his actions were succesfull, because he did it with so much confidence in his own skills. It was never an option for him to play differently of more carefull. When a Dutch journalist after the game confronted him with the reactions of France journalists (Was this really only his first starting performance in NL.. increable) he stated: Koeman selected because of the player I am, why should i play any differenly when I get the chance..
Another thing that sets him apart is that he dares to postpone a pass untill the right moment. How many players do you see that direclty pass towards an open teammate when they get the chance.. Frenkie can do the same thing when it's the best option, but when it's nót, he keeps the ball with him.. He dribbles untill the right moments is there (forces a defender to step out) or he just doesn't give it at all when it only a meaningless pass. He doesn't pass the pass, he passes to create plus on situations and to create chances. Thats wjhy he almost never plays sideways or backwards. His ability to postpone a pass is also a result of his believe in his own qualities that he will not loose the ball when opponents pressure him.
Watch tonight and judge for yourself. Kids like this don't come along everyday. Frenkie is a class apart...
He looks very, very special to be fair. For nostalgia, part of me would like him and De Ligt to stay in Amsterdam a while longer, just so we could maybe see a great Ajax side again.
Anyone still doubting Frenkie, please look at the first half of Ajax Benfica..
--Can someone please PM me so I can share a video of him to post here, im still under newbie restrictions
EDIT: Video has alreadybeen shared below by Sjaakmeoff
--Can someone please PM me so I can share a video of him to post here, im still under newbie restrictions
EDIT: Video has alreadybeen shared below by Sjaakmeoff
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I would piss my pants if we got him
No point him coming here Jose would ruin him.
Maybe Henny de Regt and Marcel Bout can help us out here. Didn’t Henny work with Ajax before he joined us?
Might prove me wrong in the future but I'm not sold on him at all, would much rather get Ndombele.
Watched the last night's game. This kid is special.
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