How Barcelona can line up in 2019 with Frenkie De Jong

As we all know, the European football season's winter transfer window is drawing to a close. Most of the top clubs have finished their business with respect to the transfer market, with new players intending to arrive either at the beginning of February itself or by the beginning of next season.

In what was one of the most popular transfer news from the past week, Catalan giants FC Barcelona beat the likes of French leaders Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and English champions Manchester City to capture the signature of the 21-year-old wonderkid from Ajax, Frenkie De Jong. The player will arrive at Barcelona by the beginning of next season and has cost the side a whopping €75million, plus an additional €11million in bonuses.

A creative midfielder widely touted to fit Barca’s style of play, Frenkie is also seen as the rightful heir to Sergio Busquets' throne in the CDM position. His penchant to play short passes and perform layoffs also makes him a versatile footballer. Without a doubt, Barcelona's future days are going to be represented using their upcoming generation of players, De Jong is the latest addition there.

With De Jong's arrival, Barcelona now have a lot of players who can play in the midfield. Busquets, Ivan Rakitic, Philippe Coutinho, Arturo Vidal, and Arthur are the main midfielders right now. It is into this setup that De Jong will have to force an impact, and according to his talent, he is expected to deliver the goods for the Blaugrana.

Initial statistics and analysis from his ongoing tenure at Ajax Amsterdam indicate that the youngster is way more mature than his age. Let us now take a look at some of the ways in which Barcelona can align themselves into a playing XI while being able to field Frenkie amongst the starters:

#1 The 4-4-2 formation

The 4-4-2 has been one of Ernesto Valverde's favourite formations since his earliest days with the club. His starting time as a manager with the Blaugranas saw Neymar leave to PSG all of a sudden, with the club having not much of options to replace the Brazilian. As a result, Valverde was forced to play both Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi as the only options up front - as centre-forwards, using an extra midfielder in addition to the usual setup of three, so as to maintain balance.

The ploy worked well, with the Catalans losing just one game on their way to a dominant display in the LaLiga last season. The arrivals of Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele bolstered the side's team strength even further.

In the upcoming season as well, Valverde can use the 4-4-2 to select his starting XI. While Suarez and Messi will retain their role of centre-forwards, Coutinho and Dembele may dominate the left and right flanks, albeit in more of a midfield position (refer below figure):

The only two points to be observed in this case, are the wider gaps in central zones and the defensive back-line of the remaining two midfielders. The gaps in the centre can easily be closed by Coutinho and Dembele making pacy inroads to cover the midfield, as wing-backs Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto run up to cover them in the wide spots.

The second conundrum, that of the midfielders' backline can be averted by permanently playing two defensive midfielders with a penchant to drop anchor and hold the line when needed.

Barcelona will have two great stalwarts in the said positions, in Busquets and De Jong. Judging from what we have been seeing from the former for years, and estimating how the current Ajax player will fit into the Barca squad, they may even grow as strong as a set of three players, all on their own.

If needed, Valverde can also use the additional services of Vidal or Arthur, who can double up as substitutes themselves.

#2 The 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-4 formation

Suarez can play as the lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation

Barcelona, once famous for its 4-3-3 style adopted under Frank Rijkaard and then Pep Guardiola slowly stopped using the same pattern - especially in the past couple of years. Apart from the departures of midfield legends Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta from the club, there is another reason for this as well - Sergio Busquets.

The holding midfielder, who has been at his prime form for nearly a decade, hasn't been at his best during the recent past. If Iniesta and Xavi had the responsibility of dominating the game through their passing, Busquets used to be the central link in between them.

But for the first time in years, the Spanish superstar's passing seems a bit too erroneous, with him making many wayward decisions on the ball. Hence, while Busquets remains an important starter in most cases, Valverde will be cautious of this problem and may rightly look to replace the ageing veteran with De Jong, who will be an ideal replacement.

De Jong's ball-holding skills and possession-control abilities have already attracted a lot of attention - even before he has left the Dutch shores.

There may also be cases where Barca is countered by clubs with a tighter defensive backline. In such a case, making runs into the opponents' box can prove a bit too engrossing for the front-three, which is when an additional man up front can be of great help.

Barcelona can achieve that with the 4-2-3-1, or the 4-2-4 as required. From left to right, Dembele, Suarez, and Messi will constitute the front-three while Coutinho will don the role of a centrally attacking midfielder just behind Suarez' line, just like from his days of yore at Liverpool.

Alongside Arthur, Rakitic or Vidal, De Jong can make an impact in the "Busquets role", forming a strong central line of support (refer below figure).

#3 The 4-3-3 formation

As mentioned in the previous slide, over the past decade, Barcelona have often been associated with the 4-3-3 formation. Several fans of the club also wrongly misinterpret the formation to be one of the most important parts of the club culture. Just like Manchester United in England, Barcelona is known not only for its wins but also for the way they play to win.

A total misconception here - it is not the 4-3-3 that is the part of their culture, but it is their distinctive playing style of passing to maintain total control which is a must for the club. The 4-3-3 just helped them stay that way for a long time - also because the players suited the style.

As Xavi and Iniesta became regulars in the side and developed a telepathic understanding between themselves, the 4-3-3 was used as it helped the duo move the ball around in the midfield. At least seven passing channels were available to either of them at any given time, and even when a couple or more of them were closed down, Barca were able to boss the midfield due to the plethora of other options (refer below figure).

Barca's 4-3-3 formation in the glory years

But as Xavi left, the formation was no longer prevalent with Rakitic choosing to play along more attacking lines, and Luis Enrique regularly using a circumstantial three-man defence system with Dani Alves and Jordi Alba playing much higher up in the flanks, giving ways to 3-4-3s and 3-5-2s. That did not go down well with some fans, but Barca have been relatively successful regardless.

These days, Valverde often picks a 4-2-3-1 side or a 4-4-2 side, given the variations available among his arrows in the midfield quiver. But with De Jong in the fray, it may be possible that the 4-3-3 system is back, as shown below (refer below figure):

Barcelona loyalists loved the 4-3-3 and the midfield metronomes Xavi and Iniesta, who dictated play on their own terms via superhuman passing senses. In Arthur, De Jong and Busquets, it is highly possible that the golden days are back once again.

There is a slight problem, however, the goals from midfield will trickle down, which is still not a big deal provided the front three can make up for it. As part of a contingency plan though, Valverde may as well call in Rakitic or/and Vidal as and when needed, based on their goal-scoring tendencies, as De Jong can easily be rotated between CM and CDM.