Frenkie de Jong is very expensive!

“He is not up to his standards (…) If you look at Frenkie de Jong during the last World Cup, he was like a ghost! He must take matters into his own hands.”, declared Ruud Gullit a few days ago about Frenkie de Jong. Far from being unanimous in the selection, the midfielder is under fire from critics on Dutch soil. A few days before playing the Euro (the Netherlands are in the group of Austria, Poland and the French team, editor’s note), the FC Barcelona player is slow to take on this executive role in the locker room and to confirm all the hopes placed in him at the start of his career, when he played at Ajax Amsterdam in particular.

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Criticized for his performances at club and national level, the 27-year-old must be a leader of the Dutch nation, which launched a new cycle during the last World Cup. He is one of the most capped players (54 caps) among the elements called up by Ronald Koeman but the former Ajax Amsterdam lacks consistency. Proof of this is that he has only played 20 La Liga matches (out of 38 possible) this season with Barça. It must be said that injuries did not spare him either. The former number 10 of the Netherlands, Wesley Sneijder, also charges De Jong, and partly explains this irregularity by these constant physical glitches.

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Injuries slowed him down

“Frenkie hasn’t been consistent enough in recent years. He had a fantastic season at Ajax, which earned him a good transfer. If you look at the last few seasons, he has also been injured very often.the former Inter Milan attacking midfielder told From Oranjezomer. Hit in the ankle at the start of the season, then in the malleolus in the last few weeks, Frenkie de Jong did not arrive in optimal physical shape in Germany to compete in the Euro, and was not able to train fully with his team.

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“I’m not in good shape yet, so I can’t say I’m better. My ankle is fine in itself, but it needs to recover properly to prevent it from becoming chronic., declared FDJ himself a few days ago. Despite this, he was summoned by Ronald Koeman to play in the Euro. He knows he is being awaited by Dutch supporters, who are starting to get impatient with the man who was presented as the future headliner of Dutch football. De Jong sees the European Championship as an opportunity to silence critics and take a step forward in the national team, provided he is ready to take on the challenge.