Koeman names the Barca star he’s delighted to see flourishing
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 5 Mar 2022 23:04 GMT
- 3 min read
Ronald Koeman’s departure from Barcelona proved to be an acrimonious one, but he has been delighted to see one of his former players thrive since he left.
Koeman spoke out early this week over the difficulties he had at the club, openly criticising president Joan Laporta, who he claimed could have offered him more support as Barca endured a poor start to the season.
The Dutchman added that he would have loved the type of attacking options that new hew coach Xavi has been given thanks to the January transfer window. He also suggested that if these deals were possible in the winter, it may also have been plausible for Lionel Messi to have been retained by the club.
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Koeman, though, does not wish ill on his former club. Indeed, he is pleased to see Frenkie de Jong, in particular, sparkling at Camp Nou.
“I'm happy for the club, as things are better now, and for the players. It's nice to see Frenkie de Jong playing good old-fashioned football, he has such quality,” he told AD.
De Jong might have been sold
De Jong has rapidly established himself as a mainstay of Xavi’s plans in midfield and because of that it is easy to forget that in January he was heavily linked with a move away from the club due to his indifferent form.
The Netherlands star, though, is back to his former self as Barcelona find their form once again.
Following the January window, the Catalans have been in sparkling form. Indeed, ahead of Sunday’s trip to Elche, they have picked up three successive victories in which they have scored four times, including a difficult Europa League match away from home against Napoli.
Indeed, Barca appear to have fully recovered from the miserable beginning to the season that was overseen by Koeman – and De Jong’s renaissance is the best example of that.
