Luuk de Jong of FC Barcelona competes for the ball with Toni Kroos of Real Madrid CF during the Spanish League’s “Clasico” at the Camp Nou on Oct. 24, 2021. (Photo by Pedro Salado/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
The arrival of Luuk de Jong at Barcelona looks to be in its final months as the Dutch forward is unlikely to be part of Xavi’s plan.
De Jong was brought in at the behest of former manager Ronald Koeman and was signed during the last hours of summer deadline day. So far, his spell at the club has not gone well.
With the winter transfer window drawing closer, the Catalan side are studying the real possibility of ending the loan and sending him back to Sevilla. However, their plan may have hit a roadblock.
De Jong does not fit the profile of a Barcelona striker
According to Sport, Sevilla president Jose Castro is not contemplating the return of De Jong as they are not considering terminating the loan deal.
Barcelona were hopeful his parent club would want him back as their other striker, Youssef En-Nesyri, suffered an injury and is set to be out for at least two months. That Sevilla aren’t even thinking about it is bad news for the Catalans.
De Jong was an odd pick-up when it was first announced. Again, he arrived at the petition of Koeman as the club had loaned Antoine Griezmann back to Atletico Madrid and were in need of a striker.
From the moment it was made official, everyone seemed to know that the fit wasn’t there. Even under Koeman, De Jong was largely ineffective and slowed down play. His familiarity with Memphis Depay did not end up playing to his advantage.
He became a symptom of how far they had strayed from their philosophy. Instead of setting up plays and combining, the plan turned to sending in hopeful crosses and hoping De Jong was on the receiving end. It hardly worked and even when it did, De Jong let those chances go to waste.
With Barcelona focused on strengthening the front line, players need to make way and De Jong is one of the main candidates to depart. As is stands, he’s scored only once in nine appearances across all competitions.
