Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has revealed that he enjoys his life at Camp Nou amid growing interest from several European clubs, including Juventus. After a torrid start to the season, the Dutchman has regained his confidence and developed into one of Barca’s most consistent performers under Xavi’s stewardship.
Despite establishing himself as an indispensable first-team player at the Blaugrana, De Jong has become a subject of transfer speculations linking him with a summer move away from Camp Nou. Barcelona dashed out €75m to sign the 24-year-old from Ajax in 2019, hoping to make him their new Xavi.
It has not been anything like it so far for De Jong in La Liga, but the deep-lying midfielder appears to be developing his game under the Barcelona icon. He was on the scoresheet as Barcelona thrashed Valencia 4-1 on Sunday, netting his second goal in four league outings.
During the post-match interview, De Jong played down talks about his desire to depart Barca at the end of the season.
“I am very happy to be at Barcelona. Since I was a child, I have always wanted to come here, so in a way, it is a dream come true. Of course, I would have liked to win more trophies in my first two years,” he said as relayed by Calciomercato.
“I expected more from this point of view. But otherwise, I am very happy and I hope to be so for several years to come.“
Juventus are in the market for a creative midfielder after Arthur Melo failed to leave up to expectations over the past two years. And De Jong has emerged as their potential target. However, the player’s statement has effectively shut down the Italians’ hopes of securing his services in the summer.
The Brazilian arrived from Barcelona of all teams in summer 2020. But he has never found his feet in Serie A. Arthur has tumbled down in the pecking order this term after committing a series of errors that lead to Juventus dropping some points earlier in the season.
But as things stand right now, Juventus will have to consider other options as De Jong has no intention of severing ties with Barcelona.