Frenkie de Jong(Signed for Barcelona)

[Bpughh]

Ndombele looked alright last night! Had the highest passes and success ratio after our back 5, plus the most successful long balls. Big, strong, young. He looks like a new fangled version of Fernandinho, which is high praise from me because I LOVE Ferna.

Ferna is one of my all time favorite players too. I like ndombele a lot but I don't think pep will sign off on him being our number 1 target. Ndombele is a raw talent. Pep has surprised me in some ways before and it is good to have positive players like ndombele... however, i just don't think he is calm enough. pep is too picky for this position. fernadinho is a very different player imo. love the energy on both but ndombele is more power than finesse and rarely does pep go for that. we will see.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

Ferna is one of my all time favorite players too. I like ndombele a lot but I don't think pep will sign off on him being our number 1 target. Ndombele is a raw talent. Pep has surprised me in some ways before and it is good to have positive players like ndombele... however, i just don't think he is calm enough. pep is too picky for this position. fernadinho is a very different player imo. love the energy on both but ndombele is more power than finesse and rarely does pep go for that. we will see.

I posted my thoughts on the Ndombele thread, too, but I think what we lack is a bit of power through the middle. We are brilliant at cultivating 5’7” midfield worldies, but Ferna really is a cultured baby-faced assassin and thus ALMOST irreplaceable! I think Pep could mould Ndombele into a beast surrounded by twinkled-toed creative talent.

One thing we definitely agree on....Pep is going to be very picky about who replaces his star man, and I think we may have dodged a bullet in Jorginho. The passing is there, but the rest is nowhere to be seen, and Son made him look like he was wearing concrete boots on the weekend!

 

[MillionDollarDream]

It’s about a handful of things for Pep and the Execs.

1) Obviously, he can play, but I s he technically gifted enough to play for Pep?
2) Is he young enough to be worth paying a fortune?
3) Is he better than anything we have, or are on the cusp of having from the Academy?
4) Does he have the temperament and “upbringing” (football and social) to fit into what has already been built? Is he humble enough to be sat on the bench or worse if he doesn’t buckle under and give himself over to the Revolution?
5) What does he bring to the table that someone in the squad doesn’t already have to be able to fill the hole?

People laud Pep for the way he plays and the goals and the flow and you name it. However, Pep knows, and constantly states, IT IS THE QUALITY OF THE PLAYERS that makes all the difference in the world. If we are going to pay an arm and a leg for someone, do they have the QUALITY needed to fit in immediately and produce?

TL:DR version

 

[ChicagoBlue]

TL:DR version

Twitter:DR

 

[ojeme]

I may get pelters but I hope we sign Ndombele rather than FDJ. When we come against stronger teams, we would need a very good measure of strenght and defensive ability.

 

[Tevez City]

Hopefully City will play Ajax in the next round to end the debate about FDJ and Ndombele

Imo, FDJ is better

 

[salfordbluetrue]

Hopefully City will play Ajax in the next round to end the debate about FDJ and Ndombele

Imo, FDJ is better

two very different players FDJ probably has a higher ceiling ,but last night in a bad game he was anonymous. a game which needed someone to stand up and be counted

 

[domalino]

two very different players FDJ probably has a higher ceiling ,but last night in a bad game he was anonymous. a game which needed someone to stand up and be counted

Why did he need to stand up and be counted last night?


Ajax won 2-0. De Jong was excellent in the first few CL games, particularly against Bayern.

What was it specifically about an easy away win in Athens made it such an important game for him to have a great game?

 

[Easy]

Why did he need to stand up and be counted last night?


Ajax won 2-0. De Jong was excellent in the first few CL games, particularly against Bayern.

What was it specifically about an easy away win in Athens made it such an important game for him to have a great game?

Missed the Bayern game through injury actually :)

 

[domalino]

Missed the Bayern game through injury actually :)

Which was the one that got him all the rave reviews at the beginning of the season? Benfica?

Either way my point stands - he's had plenty of celebrated performances, so why is a young player having an off game in an easy win a problem?