Frenkie De Jong is one of the highly rated young midfielders in Europe with his performances this season a beauty to watch. The Ajax Amsterdam academy graduate in January agreed to move to Barcelona in a transfer deal worth £65 million.
Frenkie is known as a defensive midfielder who is comfortable on the ball and able to turn defence to attack. His game is reminiscent of Barcelona legend Michael Laudrup in his ability to win the midfield battle and dictate the tempo of the game. Marco Verrati also does a similar function for French side PSG and the Italian national team.
The 21-year-old recently revealed that he came close to move to Premier League side Tottenham last summer. According to Frenkie Tottenham came knocking and he was interested in the club because of their manager Mauricio Pochettino.
The Argentine tactician is known for promoting young players into the first team with the likes of Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen beneficiaries in recent years.
However, Frenkie felt that the timing was not right as he was injured during that period. He decided to play an extra year at the Eredivisie club and it has turned out to be an excellent year for him.
“Tottenham fans would be wondering what could have been if the 21-year-old had made the move in the summer. The North London club has struggled with injuries in the midfield positions with the likes of Harry Winks, Victor Wanyama and Christian Eriksen suffering injuries at different “points of the season.
Spurs have fallen down the cliff dramatically as they were in the hunt for the title six weeks ago. They now face a fight to make the top four after a run of one victory in five games. Pochettino’s men host Crystal Palace on Wednesday in their first clash at their new £1 billion stadium.