Former midfielder turned pundit Ruud Gullit has said that signing Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong is a ‘realistic option’ for Liverpool.
Despite selling Curtis Jones to Inter Milan this summer, the Reds opted not to sign a new midfielder. So, Andoni Iraola currently has Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Trey Nyoni as options to deploy in the deeper midfield positions.
However, Endo has found himself on the periphery in recent years, while Nyoni is still very young and his game time needs to be managed carefully to help him reach his full potential.
On the other hand, Gravenberch played a key role in helping Liverpool win the Premier League title during the 2024/25 campaign. However, he has been displaying average performances in recent months.
So, Liverpool could do with signing a new midfielder next year. Now, during a recent interview (via TEAMtalk), Gullit says that De Jong is a ‘realistic option’ for Liverpool to strengthen the midfield.
The Dutchman is ‘a fantastic player,’ but he needs to recover from his persistent fitness problems and play regularly. Apart from Liverpool, Man Utd can also sign De Jong, but having recently revamped the engine room by purchasing Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba this summer, United are unlikely to make a move to add further depth to this position.
De Jong to Liverpool
Gullit said:
“Frenkie De Jong is a realistic option again for Liverpool or Manchester United if he can get fit after Rodri joined Barcelona. The first thing Frenkie De Jong needs to do is get fit because now he has competition from Rodri at Barcelona.
“It all depends on what the team needs but Frenkie is a great player, a fantastic player, but the most important thing is that he needs to play. He needs to play for the national team but it’s important for himself too.”
De Jong is a technically gifted box-to-box midfielder by trait but is also efficient in the deep-lying playmaker position. He even previously played in the centre-back position.
The 29-year-old, valued at around £30m by Transfermarkt, is a top-class player and has proven his worth at the…
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