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Henk ten Cate: Barcelona Will Sign 'Mixture of Deco and Xavi' Frenkie de Jong
November 19, 2018
Former Barcelona assistant boss Henk ten Cate believes the club will sign Ajax starlets Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt, noting the former has similarities to past Camp Nou stars Xavi and Deco.
The Dutchman, who assisted former Barca manager Frank Rijkaard from 2003 to 2006, told Mundo Deportivo's Roger Torello (h/t Goal):
"It cannot be compared, De Jong can be a mixture of Deco and Xavi, but he is De Jong. It is always difficult to compare players. Both Xavi and Deco were from another planet; De Jong has the talent, but he must still prove it and that his injuries are respected."
Per Goal, both De Jong and De Ligt have been linked with a move to the Camp Nou. Ten Cate isn't convinced they're ready for that yet but believes it's time they left Ajax as the Eredivisie is "too easy" and leaving would be "the best decision for their careers."
He continued:
"I think that with their age they are players who need to play every week and the chances of playing at Barca are not so great. When someone arrives at Barca they have to be ready.
"My opinion is that Barca will sign them but transfer them to another club so that they can get experience at the highest level, but not at Barca. They are players with a lot of quality but to grow they need to play, not be on the bench."
On Friday, the pair helped the Netherlands record a 2-0 win over world champions France in the UEFA Nations League, and football writer Elko Born was impressed with both of them:
De Jong particularly stood out with a dominant performance in midfield:
The likes of Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic are excellent players who bring much to Barcelona's midfield, but the Blaugrana have lacked someone who can dictate games from the centre since Xavi left in 2015.
Although Xavi's are considerable boots to fill, De Jong looks like he could exert a similar influence on games.
He did as much against France, as ESPN's David Cartlidge noted:
De Jong, 21, is two years older than De Ligt and as such he is further along in his development.
The latter is an exciting prospect at centre-back, though, and would be well suited to Barca's game. He's composed in possession and is already a leader, too, having donned the captain's armband at Ajax since the back end of last season.
Grup 14's Rafael Hernandez wants to see Barcelona splash out and recruit both:
While Ten Cate isn't convinced either is ready to start for Barca, De Jong will be 22 by the end of the season and likely ready to make a step up from Ajax. Given his suitability to the Catalan giants' play, it may not be too long before he'd be commanding a regular starting berth.
As for De Ligt, he would be unlikely to unseat Samuel Umtiti or Gerard Pique in their first-choice centre-back partnership.
The latter's form has been inconsistent this season and he'll be 32 in February, though, so there would be a clear path to regular football at the Camp Nou even if he would only be a back-up initially.
The pair would both be excellent signings, so Barca won't want to miss out and see them join a rival instead.