Frenkie de Jong praised by Barcelona boss Flick: “I’m thrilled to have him in the team” | OneFootball

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has praised Frenkie de Jong ahead of the Blaugrana’s league match against Real Oviedo.

The comments come after De Jong returned from a minor injury last week to play in his side’s 2-1 away victory against Newcastle United in the Champions League. The calm and collected Oranje midfielder also captained the team for an hour against Getafe on Sunday as they won 3-0.

Delighted with the Dutchman’s form, Flick beamed at his pre-Oviedo press conference, “I think every Barça fan can see how important Frenkie is. I’m thrilled to have him in the team.

“I enjoy this team and especially him. Frenkie is a very important player and I talk to him a lot because I like to hear his opinion.”

So far this season, the 28-year-old De Jong has featured three times in La Liga and once in the Champions League. His brief form has seen him pick up an average rating of 7.47 on Fotmob, with his particular skills seeing him in the upper percentiles for touches and chance creation, against positional peers.

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield