Barcelona’s new midfielder Frenkie De Jong made his debut at Camp Nou in the Blaugrana’s 2-1 win over Arsenal on Sunday’s Joan Gamper Trophy, starting and playing 45 minutes as the lone holding midfielder.
De Jong’s performance lasted just one half, but was enough to impress the fans who went online and voted him as the Most Valuable Player in the Joan Gamper Trophy. He won a big ugly golden star, which... fine.
Frenkie looked very good in all aspects: defensively, covering space and anticipating plays to steal the ball in high-pressing situations; in the buildup, constantly giving teammates a passing option and making the right decisions to beat the press; and in the attacking half, finding the right passes to the guys ahead of him and ready to recycle possession if the moves didn’t work.