Frenkie De Jong provides update on his Barcelona future

Rumoured Premier League target Frenkie De Jong has played down speculation linking him with a move away from Barcelona in the summer, insisting that he is ‘very happy’ at the Camp Nou.

The Dutchman has started 18 times in La Liga so far this campaign, and has also been an ever-present in Europe under both Ronald Koeman and new boss Xavi Hernandez. Despite his regular gametime however, the emergence of Pedri, Gavi and Nico in recent seasons, along with the continued evergreen nature of Sergio Busquets, led to speculation that he could be jettisoned.

That was further fuelled by Barcelona’s perceived need for financial wiggle room, with the Athletic reporting that the Blaugrana could be willing to cash in should a big-money move be made for him in January.

This never transpired, and now speaking to the Guardian, the 22 year old has reiterated his happiness in Catalonia and how he wants to remain a key cog in the Barcelona wheel.

‘I’m very happy I’m at Barcelona’, he told the outlet.

‘From a young age I’ve wanted to be here, so in that way it has been a dream come true. But, of course, I would have liked to win more trophies than we did in my first two years. I expected more in that sense, let’s put it that way. But other than that, I’m very happy here and hopefully for many more years.’

Messi the best ever?

De Jong was also quick to hand out big praise to former teammate Lionel Messi, who has struggled since leaving Barcelona for Paris Saint Germain in the summer.

PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 29: Lionel Messi is awarded with his seventh Ballon D’Or award during the Ballon D’Or Ceremony at Theatre du Chatelet on November 29, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)

‘I think he is the best in pretty much all aspects of football’, the Dutchman explained. Whether we did finishing drills, positioning plays or other training games: he was the best. No praise about him is exaggerated. For me he is the best ever.’

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	Manchester City	25	47	63
2	Liverpool FC	24	42	54
3	Chelsea FC	24	30	47
4	Manchester United	25	8	43
5	West Ham United	25	11	41
6	Arsenal FC	22	9	39
7	Wolverhampton Wanderers	23	4	37
8	Tottenham Hotspur	22	-1	36
9	Brighton & Hove Albion	24	0	33
10	Southampton FC	24	-7	29
11	Leicester City	22	-5	27
12	Aston Villa	23	-5	27
13	Crystal Palace	24	-3	26
14	Brentford FC	25	-14	24
15	Leeds United	23	-19	23
16	Everton FC	22	-10	22
17	Newcastle United	23	-19	21
18	Norwich City	24	-36	17
19	Watford FC	23	-20	15
20	Burnley FC	21	-12	14

Player	Team	Goals
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	16
Jota, Diogo	Liverpool FC	12
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City	10
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	9
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	9
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City	9
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	8
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United	8
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	8
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	8
Maupay, Neal	Brighton & Hove Albion	8
Smith-Rowe, Emile	Arsenal FC	8
Raphinha	Leeds United	8
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	8
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	7
Mahrez, Riyad	Manchester City	7
Gallagher, Conor	Crystal Palace	7
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	7
Silva, Bernardo	Manchester City	7
Ward Prowse, James	Southampton FC	6

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	0	7
Neves, Ruben	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	8
Salisu, Mohammed	Southampton FC	0	7
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	0	7
Rice, Declan	West Ham United	0	7
Mctominay, Scott	Manchester United	0	7
Maguire, Harry	Manchester United	0	6
Gallagher, Conor	Crystal Palace	0	6
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	1	5
McGinn, John	Aston Villa	0	6
Canos, Sergi	Brentford FC	0	6
Westwood, Ashley	Burnley FC	0	6
Alonso, Marcos	Chelsea FC	0	6
Moreno, Rodrigo	Leeds United	0	6
Norgaard, Christian	Brentford FC	0	6
Tarkowski, James	Burnley FC	0	6
Laporte, Aymeric	Manchester City	1	5
Shelvey, Jonjo	Newcastle United	0	5
Shaw, Luke	Manchester United	0	6
Mings, Tyrone	Aston Villa	0	6

Player	Team	Assists
Alexander-Arnold, Trent	Liverpool FC	10
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	9
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	8
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	8
Robertson, Andy	Liverpool FC	8
Jesus, Gabriel	Manchester City	7
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	6
Cancelo, Joao	Manchester City	6
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United	5
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	5
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	5
James, Reece	Chelsea FC	5
Kovacic, Mateo	Chelsea FC	5
Barnes, Harvey	Leicester City	5
Redmond, Nathan	Southampton FC	5
Mahrez, Riyad	Manchester City	4
Ward Prowse, James	Southampton FC	4
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	4
Benrahma, Said	West Ham United	4
Lacazette, Alexandre	Arsenal FC	4