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Barcelona is keen to secure the futures of French center-back Clement Lenglet and midfielder Frenkie de Jong and has opened contract extension talks with both players.
The Catalan Giants are “eager to reward” Lenglet for his “impressive progress” since joining the club from La Liga rivals Sevilla in 2018.
Lenglet’s “consistent performances and positive attitude have made him a popular figure” at the Camp Nou and Barca want to extend his current deal that runs until 2023, according to Goal’s Ignasi Oliva Gispert.
Barca also wants to secure De Jong’s long-term future despite the Netherlands international only having arrived at the club in the summer of 2019. The midfielder’s contract still has four years left to run but manager Koeman wants his future secured.
Under-pressure club president Josep Maria Bartomeu, who is facing a vote of no confidence, according to AS, is also keen to do both deals to “deliver positive news” after a tough year on and off the pitch for Barca.
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Koeman Ready to Support De Jong
De Jong has perhaps not had quite the impact at Barcelona that was expected when he arrived from Ajax, but his potential and quality is not in doubt. Koeman knows the midfielder well from their time together with the Netherlands national team, while his 4-2-3-1 formation should bring the best out of De Jong.
Indeed the coach has backed De Jong to go and become a big success at the Camp Nou in a recent interview with UEFA.
Frenkie is a very clever football player. He sees all the situations on the pitch, he always makes the right decision, and the most important [thing] for me is to put him in the right position in the team. Last season, he didn’t play in his [best] position. Then it’s always difficult for a young player who comes to Barcelona; it’s a big change in the language, how they live, how they train. But I will give him that support now to leave him in his best position, but there’s no question about the qualities of the player.
De Jong is already a regular at Barcelona and clearly has the backing of his manager. Yet supporters will still be expecting more from him in 2020-21 and will hope he can consistently replicate the form he has shown previously with Ajax and the Netherlands.
Barcelona Working Hard on New Contracts
Barcelona’s decision to try and renew Lenglet and De Jong follows the team’s efforts to keep first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen at the club. The Germany international will sign a new long-term contract shortly that will keep him at the Camp Nou until 2025, according to Sport‘s Luis Miguelsanz.
Talks over Ter Stegen’s contract have been ongoing for some time and were put on hold earlier in the year due to COVID-19, Goal reported, but progress has since been made and an announcement is expected shortly.
Yet there’s one more player who Barca will be particularly keen to sign a contract extension this season. Captain Lionel Messi’s current deal runs out at the end of the campaign, meaning he could leave for free if he does not commit to the club before then.
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