Barcelona are taking a deep breath after a turbulent transfer deadline day, which saw two players arrive and four leave the club in the final two days.
However for new Sporting Director Deco, who only arrived in the summer, the job is just getting started, as he outlines his priorities between now and the January transfer window, when Barcelona will attempt to accelerate the transfer of Vitor Roque.
Near the top of that list is repairing relations with Frenkie de Jong. The Dutchman has been imperious so far this season, and looks as good as he ever has in a Barcelona shirt. While de Jong is happy in the city, and his relations with the team are good, Sport say that his opinion of the club is still rather cold.
Last summer Barcelona tried to sell him quite publicly, without ever outright demanding he leave, but did leak a number of stories to the press, including the details of his contract.
🚨 Alemany's departure could help restore relations between Barcelona and De Jong, whose agents are still angry for leaking his contract. Deco will be responsible for leading future negotiations to renew the Dutchman. @tjuanmarti 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/6pGYss5YXw
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) September 6, 2023
De Jong, and notably his agents, are still hurt by the affair. The Catalan club fear that the next time they have to negotiate with the Dutchman’s camp, they may take their revenge by outright refusing to do so. De Jong’s contract is not up until 2026, but if Barcelona are sensible, they will open talks next summer in order to avoid undue pressure from the market the following summer.
Hence Deco is keen to begin repairing relations with both de Jong and his agents. The exit of Mateu Alemany should aid him in that regard, and Deco can start building a relationship without any previous, in a way that President Joan Laporta cannot.
Alongside Oriol Romeu, de Jong appears to have already struck up a good partnership, and has kicked on from last season too. However this is a feeling that while many of Barcelona’s individuals are performing, as a collective they are lacking something, which might require a change of system.
