A headline member of the midfield ranks at La Liga giants Barcelona is increasingly flirting with the possibility of being iced out of the club’s engine room rotation.
That’s according to Diario Sport, who point towards Frenkie de Jong as the player in question.
The name of midfielder De Jong has of course taken its place front and centre in the headlines in Catalunya’s capital over recent days.
This comes after the Dutchman was heavily blamed for Barcelona’s two dropped points at Celta Vigo at the weekend, before being jeered by his own fans after being introduced off the bench against Brest on Tuesday.
As much comes amid what, all told, has proven a hugely difficult campaign to date for De Jong, owing chiefly to injury.
And such struggles could yet culminate in the 27-year-old being condemned to a permanent spot on the bench in the near future…
As per Sport, until now, De Jong has maintained the blind support of boss Hansi Flick, who has never been shy in reiterating his belief in the talents of the former Ajax man.
With Barca’s midfield having now been reinforced by a number of injury returns, and FdJ failing to step up to the plate, however, his place in the Blaugrana’s ranks is increasingly at risk.
Add to this the refusal of the player to budge in contract negotiations, and the situation could soon turn ugly for De Jong in Catalunya…
Conor Laird – GSFN
