“One of the best player I’ve ever seen in his position” - Joao Cancelo showers high praise on Barcelona superstar

Joao Cancelo has heaped praise on Barcelona teammate Frenkie de Jong. He claims that the midfielder is one of the best in his position and added that the squad is happy to see him back on the pitch.

Speaking to the UEFA website, Cancelo praised De Jong for putting in a tremendous effort on the pitch. He was quoted by Barca Centre as saying:

"I want to say something about Frenkie de Jong. He's one of the best players I have EVER seen in that position. When he plays he makes a tremendous difference and we're happy to have him back."

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has claimed that the club had the opportunity to sell De Jong for €100 million in the summer. However, they opted against the sale as Xavi saw the midfielder as a key part of his starting XI. He said via 90MIN:

"We cannot improve sportingly if we do not do our homework economically. We had the opportunity to sell Frenkie de Jong for €100 million. We didn't want to accept the proposal in order not to lose part of our capacity as Frenkie is a key player."

Frenkie de Jong returned to the pitch earlier this week after over two months out. He has played nine matches in all competitions this season and scored once.

Joao Cancelo's future at Barcelona remains undecided

Joao Cancelo joined Barcelona from Manchester City on loan this season and has reportedly set sights on joining the club permanently. However, the club's sporting director, Deco confirmed that they do not have a buy option in the contract.

He was quoted as saying by GOAL:

"Neither Cancelo nor Joao Felix have a purchase option. It is a simple one-year transfer. If they do well, we will try to retain them."

Deco said earlier this month that they were happy with Cancelo and Joao Felix, but were not thinking about the future right now. He said:

“We are very happy with the performance of both of them. They give us a lot of quality to the squad. Now it is too early to talk about their situations and we will have time to make decisions. Now is the time when the players must be focused on the club’s objectives and try to win as much as possible in all competitions. All that should be talked about at this moment is speculation.”

Barcelona are fourth in the league table and are on top of their UEFA Champions League group table.