Ajax boss calls out Barcelona for misusing Frenkie de Jong
February 11, 2020
Ajax boss Erik ten Hag believes that Barcelona are not getting the best out of Frenkie de Jong as they are playing the midfielder out of position.
De Jong impressed for the Blaugrana on Sunday in a 3-2 win away at Real Betis, netting their first with a neat close-range finish.
The Netherlands international has been playing in a slightly more advanced role under Quique Setien, but Ten Hag, who coached De Jong during his time in Amsterdam, has been left unimpressed by the way Barça are using his former star.
“He’s not a goalscorer,” Ten Hag explained on the Dutch TV show ‘Rondo’ on Ziggo Sport.
“He’s the player who supplies… who supplies the teammates who give the assists or who score goals from their position.”
Ten Hag recalled the importance of the midfielder at Ajax and explained that he had to be reprimanded once for going too far up the pitch.
“Once I got him out of there,” he said in relation to substituting De Jong.
“I asked him: are you a No.10? Then when do you score goals?”
De Jong has been virtually ever-present for the Catalan club this term, starting in 22 matches across all competitions.
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