Which one Flick said he expected Frenkie De Jong to return after the break, a date that would suit his interests given the many injured players. and injuries he has in the centre of the field. Olmo is suffering from discomfort, Pedri too, Gavi is out of action, Fermín too, Bernal too and Christensen, who could have played in that position, too.
So De Jong’s return would have been ideal. Conditionally. It would have been. Because Frenkie De Jong still has no date to return. He doesn’t want to undergo surgery nor does he want to play again with the slightest discomfort.. Until he is 100% fit, De Jong will remain out. That is what he has decided.
There are many reasons why he is here, but the most obvious one is that if he is not fit, he cannot play. Can he force himself? He won’t because it is not worth returning from an injury without being cured. Could he have had surgery to return earlier or better? He does not want to undergo surgery because it is no guarantee of anything, despite the club’s doctors urging him to do so. Where are we with De Jong? In no man’s land, with no forecast and at the mercy of the player himself, who will decide how and when he returns. In the meantime, we have to wait.
In the background, although this is not the reason why he is not playing, is the tense relationship he has with this board of directors. The Dutchman has gone from being seen as a “structural” signing, as Bartomeu described him, to being in a totally opposite situation with Laporta. First they tried to sell him and he didn’t want to; then his salary was leaked without taking into account that it was last season when he was due to get paid. part of the delays in agreements with covid.
In other words, he was elevated for a reason, not because his contract stated so; then they tried to extend his contract to reduce the annual cost of his salary and De Jong did not even respond to Barça’s proposal; and this summer Barça has offered him to several clubs without him agreeing. In short, all this is floating around in the air with an injury in the middle. The Laporta-De Jong relationship is not full of trust.let’s say.
That De Jong has a plan for the future? The player is sure that sooner or later he will play again and will be available to Hansi Flick. What will happen at the end of the season? At a football club, a lot can happen in a few months and, depending on how the team is doing on a sporting level, on the institutional situation, De Jong will decide his future at the end of the season.
What can happen? He still has one year left on his contract, so all the cards are in his favour. He understands that Laporta has often gone behind his back, so De Jong, with everything in his favour, will decide according to his needs. Nobody else’s. He can hold out until the end of his contract and leave for free.he can accept a transfer at a low price considering that he only has one year left on his contract or he can renew if the situation at the club changes radically. Laporta only has to put himself in his hands.
