Within the latest previous, Barcelona have made nice efforts to resume the contracts of star gamers, with stars reminiscent of Lamine Yamal, Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde, amongst others, penning new offers with the membership.
Barça will not be achieved but, with a number of extra contract extensions lined up quickly. One in all them is Frenkie de Jong, who has as soon as once more grow to be a crucial participant for the membership.
The membership have been in talks with the Dutchman for a number of months now concerning a brand new deal. And now, sporting director Deco has successfully confirmed that the contract extension is imminent. He additionally talked about the way forward for different key stars.
Deco predicts imminent de Jong renewal
In a latest interview with Lance (h/t Mundo Deportivo), Deco confirmed, “We’re in talks. I feel we’ll attain an settlement. He’s an vital participant for us.
“I feel he’s pleased at Barcelona. We’re proud of him, too. So I don’t suppose there will probably be any issues.”
The Barcelona sporting director additionally talked about the way forward for Robert Lewandowski, who could possibly be enjoying his last season on the membership.
“It’s a unique scenario. Robert was vital, and he stays so for us. I additionally suppose that, given his age and his profession, he’ll reside 12 months after 12 months. There comes a time in a profession after we don’t make many plans for the longer term.
“I feel he’s targeted on this 12 months. We’re, too, and we’ll see. He’s a participant who relies upon rather more on his will, how he feels, and the way he sees issues. And we’ll see his progress all year long. And we’ll speak about it,” he stated.
A key spotlight for Barcelona this season has been the best way their two new signings, Marcus Rashford and Joan Garcia, have repaid the membership’s religion.
Speaking about Barcelona’s switch technique, Deco defined, “The principle precedence was to keep up what we had and check out to not lose any vital gamers.
“We managed to resume the contracts of Lamine, Raphinha, and Koundé. The thought was to keep up the inspiration of the group we’ve been constructing over the previous couple of years and attempt to enhance.”
Speaking about Joan Garcia, who has just lately acquired reward from former Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic, Deco stated:
“Joan Garcia was a goalkeeper we’d been monitoring for some time. He wasn’t a precedence this summer time, however he ended up turning into one because of Ter Stegen ‘s accidents final 12 months. We made this determination able the place we hadn’t had this urgency for 2 years.”
Deco is proud of Joan Garcia. (Photograph by Alex Caparros/Getty Photographs)
As for Rashford, the Barcelona sporting director added, “We would have liked a participant like him, who can play each on the wing and inside. That was a part of our pondering.
“The summer time was targeted on that; we didn’t suppose we would have liked to make an pressing change, except one thing occurred on the final minute.”
Rashford hasn’t disenchanted both, notably starring within the latest win over Newcastle United by scoring a shocking brace.
Deco, in the meantime, additionally talked about Barcelona’s different new signing, Roony Bardghji.
“We introduced Roony, who’s a younger lad, and we have now been monitoring him for some time. We introduced in numerous younger gamers for preseason, and we have now two or three gamers who we expect can set up themselves within the first group,” he stated.
Whereas Barcelona did a shocking job of bringing in new skills, the membership additionally needed to offload Inigo Martinez – a departure that has impacted the group in an enormous means.
Speaking about Martinez’s shock transfer to Al Nassr, Deco stated the membership needed to permit the veteran defender to complete his profession as he needed.
“It was an unexpected drawback with Iñigo Martínez, who had a proposal from Saudi Arabia. It was a unique matter, particularly given his age, and we needed to let him end his profession as he needed, out of gratitude,” he stated.
Deco went on to speak about Barcelona’s Champions League ambitions and their opponents sooner or later, together with Paris Saint-Germain.
“There are numerous groups which have strengthened very nicely, like Liverpool, who’ve signed gamers, and Actual Madrid too. The groups are higher. We have to be very robust if we need to aspire to the ultimate,” he stated.
Deco heaped reward on PSG, specifically, predicting them to grow to be one of many key candidates for the UCL once more.
“PSG are an unbelievable group; they’ve managed to construct a squad in recent times, they’ve made the appropriate signings, they’ve a coach I actually like, who could be very aggressive and severe, they usually’re one of many fundamental candidates to win the Champions League once more.
“It’s going to be a superb and enticing match, but it surely’s extra of a qualifying match. We’ve got to take it one sport at a time.
“There’s no level in dreaming concerning the Champions League if we don’t get previous the group stage. It’s a superb match, however we’ll attempt to get factors to realize our aim, which is to qualify,” he added.
Deco additionally welcomed UEFA’s transfer to permit the highest two groups within the league stage to retain house benefit until the semifinal stage.
“I feel final season was unfair with away video games. The benefit of being within the prime eight was misplaced for some time. We performed virtually the entire second leg matches of the knockout part away from house, such because the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
Can Flick’s Barcelona win the Champions League this season? (Photograph by Clive Mason/Getty Photographs)
“I assumed the perfect groups ought to have that benefit. They rectified that this 12 months, so there’s at all times room for enchancment, however I just like the mannequin,” he stated.
Deco was additionally requested about how Barcelona have developed from Xavi Hernandez to Hansi Flick. In response, he admired the work of the Catalan whereas justifying the appointment of Flick.
“Xavi was vital in his time; he introduced stability and managed to win. This transition from Xavi to Hansi. Possibly what we thought on the time was that we would have liked somebody with totally different managerial expertise, for a number of causes,” he defined.
“I feel it ended up becoming completely in that sense. Every part labored out nicely. Hansi is a contemporary coach. He was very profitable with Germany after which with Bayern. The thought of Barcelona is at all times a group that appears for the sport, that tries, that proposes,” he stated.
“You may argue about high quality, however you don’t see a defensive group. Hansi managed to enhance and maximise the potential of the gamers we had. I feel that was the important thing to the success of final season,” he added.
Lastly, Deco talked about Barcelona’s latest appointment of Thiago Alcantara as a part of Flick’s teaching employees and what he can carry to the desk.
“When Hansi arrived, he helped for simply over a month. It was the transition after his departure. Because of the relationship we had, Hansi included him within the teaching employees, and he was crucial at the start,” he stated.
“Thiago is somebody who is aware of the membership very nicely, a superb particular person, somebody who will contribute lots. I feel that for us, the coach’s security, his consolation, can also be elementary, so it’s his dedication, and the membership absolutely helps him,” he concluded.
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