Luuk De Jong: Career stats as Barcelona plan deadline-day deal
Paul Macdonald
- Updated: 31 Aug 2021 21:03 BST
- 3 min read
As the end of the 2021 summer transfer window draws closer, so does Barcelona's desperation in bringing in another striker.
Antoine Griezmann has been increasingly linked with a move back to Atletico Madrid, the reason likely being Barcelona's excessive wage bill, of which Griezmann is now one of the most prominent earners.
But numerous reports in Spain suggest that Sevilla back-up Luuk De Jon has been targeted as a potential replacement to ensure the club have sufficient striking options.
But what do De Jong's numbers look like?
Luuk De Jong: Career Numbers
Luuk De Jong
| Year | Mins | Goals | Mins Per Goal |
| 2020/21 | 1697 | 6 | 282 |
| 2019/20 | 2627 | 9 | 291 |
| 2018/19 | 3861 | 32 | 120 |
| 2017/18 | 2462 | 13 | 189 |
| 2016/17 | 3389 | 9 | 376 |
| 2015/16 | 3882 | 32 | 121 |
| 2014/15 | 3930 | 26 | 151 |
| 2013/14 | 792 | 0 | 792 |
| 2012/13 | 1771 | 8 | 221 |
| 2011/12 | 3802 | 29 | 131 |
De Jong's career is one of inconsistency, and one of the main areas where he is consistent is back in the Netherlands.
De Jong has been excellent in spells at both Twente at the beginning of the decade and then PSV halfway through it. In between, there are steps up that simply don't work.
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The switch to Borussia Monchengladbach after a prolific season at Twente didn't pay off. He managed just six league goals in his time there, as well as a disastrous spell at Newcastle where he didn't net a single goal.
After that false start, he returned to PSV for a glorious five-year spell at the peak of his career, netting 26 and 32 goals respectively in his first two seasons back in Holland.
You may have expected a big move at that point but he remained, and his form dropped off again, suggesting that maybe he had found his level. But in 2018/19 he recorded the best minutes-per-goal ratio in his career at 120 as he smashed up the Eredivisie rivals for a final time.
And then upon moving to Sevilla, he again stepped up a level but without much success. Sevilla gave him plenty of chances but just six La Liga goals wasn't the return people expected. He managed just four league goals last season.
De Jong to Barcelona: Why?
It has been reported that Ronald Koeman has specifically requested De Jong's services as he looks to restructure an attack that has lost Lionel Messi and could lose Antoine Griezmann before the window closes.
Despite adding Memphis Depay and with Ousmane Dembele, Ansu Fati and Sergio Aguero due to return from injury, Koeman clearly feels that he needs another option and feels De Jong can provide something his team doesn't have.
What an out-and-out target man - the type of player Barcelona arguably haven't had since someone like Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2010 - can bring to a team that still favours passing over anything else, remains to be seen.
But it seems clear that De Jong is on the radar of Barcelona, and whether it happens now will depend on the time remaining in the window.
