Frenkie De Jong and Pedri, the next midfield maestros or the solution to Barca’s left back problem?
I know. It sounds insane. But hear me out. I’ll give a detailed analysis of the pros and cons of each at left-back.
Pedri
After cementing his spot in the las palmas starting 11 at the tender age of 16, Pedri rightfully earned himself a move to Barca. We didn’t know much about Pedri until his debut. But after that, it was hard to miss him! So far one of our best players playmakers, nay players this season, Pedri has become almost an undisputed starter at Barca this season, starting in the El Clasico over the likes of Griezmann, Dembele and Trincao. Starting as a right winger may I add. Throughout the last few months, Pedri has displayed his versatility A LOT. At first, he started getting chances after coming on for Coutinho. But, after Coutinho's injury, Pedri's chances only became more numerous. He proved himself with every chance he got. That was it. Pedri became a starter. But was it?
Versatility
With the untimely injury of Ansu Fati and Dembele early in the recovery process, Pedri got a chance to play on each wing - and boy has he surprised. Whether we are talking about the first Juventus game, where he pocketed Cuadrado, or the Dynamo Kyiv game, where he was one of the most influential players on the field, second only to Leo and Dembele. Moving further down the field, Pedri was deployed as a central midfielder in the second Kyiv game, where he was again, one of the most influential players on the pitch. Recently, Koeman has opted to play Pedri as a pivot, alongside the likes of Frenkie de Jong and Pjanic. Even there has surprised and created countless chances. So, back to my original point, Pedri has performed consistently at the same level, whether as a left wing, left midfielder, right wing, attacking midfielder, central midfielder or defensive midfielder. The only upset we have seen from him this season was the El Clasico where he was no doubt overpowered by the likes of Sergio Ramos and Ferland Mendy. With his mesmerizing long balls, decent tackling, dizzy dribbling, and fast-paced short passes, all he really needs to improve on is his physicality. With all that being said, why would Pedri NOT make the perfect left-back?
Pros
Pedri loves to run down the wings and send full-backs running around in circles as we saw with Cuadrado. He’s amazing and precise with his long balls which could help us with our struggle of getting the ball out of the defensive line. He also knows how to send in amazing crosses which would no doubt generate more chances and assist down the left flank. Pairing him up with Fati on the left wing would be deadly, to say the least. They have not connected much on the field as Fati's untimely injury prevented that, but they would no doubt make a deadly duo in the left. Now let's talk about the negatives.
Cons
Pedri has rejuvenated our midfield. He has been, at times, more effective than Pjanic and Coutinho combined. We need him and Puig in our midfield. Coutinho will no doubt be sold when the new board comes in. So we NEED Pedri in midfield. We have Alena for now who is currently better than Pedri, but Pedri has the potential to become one of the best players in the world. The same cannot be said about Alena. So, we could try playing Pedri at left-back for a few games and see if he surprises or not. I have no doubt he will. But, even if he does surprise, he shouldn’t be a long term solution. We should play him there for 2 or 3 years at the most and bet on Alejandro Balde as Alba's long-term successor. By then, Pedri will have developed into an even more complete player as he will need to improve on his defending, physicality and even passing. Our midfield would have de Jong, Pedri and Puig in there. The best possible mid 3 we could wish for.
Frenkie de Jong
Now let’s talk about Frenkie de Jong. Maybe the less insane solution. 2 years ago, he was literally the greatest midfielder in the world. As an ex-Ajax player who understands the tiki-taka system and has played under an effective form of it much more recently than the likes of Barca’s more senior players, de Jong can be considered a measuring tool for the state of the club. If he performs, Barca are doing well under the tiki-taka system - if not, Barca have strayed. And just how much has Barca strayed? A lot. That’s all I’m going to say about that.
Pros
All that aside, de Jong has also been played out of position under terrible managers who did not understand his qualities. He loves to build up from the back. He starts VERY deep. Starting off at the same level as the centre-backs and he likes to build up from there. Playing him as a centre-mid or left mid simply wouldn’t work and not because he isn’t versatile, but because he prefers to build up from the back. That’s why he’s been deployed as a defensive mid and at times a centre-back this season. But still, it feels like his world-class qualities can easily be utilized elsewhere. I don’t need to say much about De Jong's abilities. Amazing dribbler, fats sprinter, out of this world passer and a great defender. He is also very physical. Unlike Pedri, he would not need to improve on much to become an effective left-back. I suggest the same solution. Try him there and see what happens. If he is played there he will return to his full glory. He will no doubt demolish other teams down the left flank and will have much more freedom to carry the ball upwards, he will only need to improve on his crosses to become an effective left-back.
Cons
De Jong is another player we need in our midfield no doubt. He could be the glue that holds our midfield together if he is utilized prroperly. So I would suggest not betting on him as a long term solution. For the next 2 or 3 years, Pjanic can play as the defensive midfielder. Once he leaves, retires, or becomes a bench warmer, unleash Balde as the left-back and put de Jong back in midfield. Much like Bayern did with Kimmich and Pavard.
Sergi Roberto
Now before you start drawing comparisons to Sergi Roberto, just remember that Sergi was never world-class. He may have had the potential to be world-class. But he was never world class like de Jong and never had the potential Pedri has. He adapted well to the right-back role. He simply did not make a huge difference because he just isn't world-class. No disrespect to him, he will go down as a club legend even though he never had the quality other club legends did. He saved us with the 6-1 against PSG on a historic night. If Neymar can be a club legend, so can he. But adapting to the right-back role was not particularly difficult for Roberto, he just had trouble making a difference.
Conclusion
Who would I prefer? Possibly Pedri. He is much younger. In two or 3 years' time he will still be 21 years old whereas de Jong would be 26 or 27 by then - still young but if he wants to cement himself as one of the greatest midfielders ever, 7 or 8 years won't cut it. The other scenario would be both of them! They can alternate that left-back role so they can go back to their roots as midfielders. Still, they are both amazing players who can mark an era at Barca.
P.S.
Yes, I know the title was a bit clickbaity.
Comments
Left back issue??? well to me I think the only solution if we want replacement for Jordi Alba is to go back either Marc cucurella or Alejandro grimaldo. the two is prefect match and moreover they will understand the game intime bcos They are La massia graduate
I would love cuccurella back and that is actually very realistic, but he would replace firpo rather than alba. He is a very talented player nevertheless and could actually challenge alba for a first team spot. But no guarantees with him. He is personally my favorite player we could at least try to replace alba with, if not he can At least be a great super sub, back up left back and back up left wing. As for Grimaldo I doubt he’s ever coming back. I like him too but he would be an expensive signing and that’s unrealistic at the moment. What’s most likely to happen is alba starting for the next 2 or so years and baldé replacing him long term. Baldé is very talented so I don’t have many doubts with him.
The headline is really good, by the way! The only thing I'd do here is to divide your paragraphs into shorter ones to add a bit more structure to your text. Could you please do it? I mean, the one with Pedri is really huge. It's entertaining and I liked it a lot but it could be even more readable :-)
Ya I thought so too so I just added some subtitles for the large paragraphs
Sell gm Barth waits and buy strong striker and center back
It’s “Braithwaite” NOT “Barth waits”