Frenkie de Jong praises man who only took action three times:...

Miralem Pjanic made the switch from Juventus to Barcelona last summer. The midfielder, who has come from Italy, has only played three games for the Catalans so far, of which only one as a basic player. Despite this, Frenkie de Jong praises Pjanic via the official channels of UEFA, who was exchanged for Arthur Melo by Barcelona with Juventus.

“Pjanic is a very good player, he is very comfortable on the ball. I think he sees the game very well and his shot, pass and long pass are very good. He is a player with a lot of quality, who adds a lot to our team. I am very happy that he has made the switch to Barcelona ”, says De Jong. “With Lionel Messi you obviously have one of the best players in the world on your team, so try to get him in the positions where he can make a difference. If he gets the ball in such a position, he will always make the difference. ”

De Jong had to deal with Ronald Koeman at Barcelona last summer, who succeeded the dismissed Quique Setién. “The communication between us is very good, he tells me exactly what he expects from me in this position. When he talks, you listen. He has a certain authority, strength, I don’t really know how to explain it. Of course he knows a lot about football, he understands the game and was a great player. If he tries to teach you something, you listen. ”

Koeman advised De Jong a year ago before he exchanged Ajax for Barcelona. “He was very positive about Barcelona, ​​both about the city and about the club. Everything he said was positive. I was told to be careful and not go to the restaurants too much because life in Barcelona is good. Sometimes it feels like you are on vacation for a whole year. “Be careful and the rest will be fine,” said Koeman. Ultimately, everything revolves around football. ”

“It is difficult to pinpoint what exactly I have learned. You develop as a person and as a football player, because you train and play at a certain level. That makes you a better player ”, De Jong continues with a look back on his first year at Barcelona, ​​for which he played 48 official matches for the time being. Under Koeman, the 23-year-old midfielder did not miss a minute for the time being, so he currently has six duels to his name in this year.