“Perfect”- Liverpool told to pursue La Liga star after Manchester United end interest

Former Liverpool left-back Jose Enrique wants club to sign Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong

Jose Enrique, who played for the Reds between 2011-16, wants Liverpool to sign Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong. The Spaniard put out his desire for the Reds to sign the Dutchman on Twitter.

The 25-year-old midfielder has been linked with a move away from the Camp Nou for a while now. De Jong’s long-term admirers, Manchester United, have pulled out of the deal owing to multiple delays in negotiations.

That is according to The Athletic (Subscription Required). Since his transfer to the Catalan giants from Ajax in 2019, De Jong has not exactly been upto his hype.

Even so, he has still been one of the most talented midfielders in the modern game, and at only 25, the Dutchman still has a long way to go. Along with financial troubles for Barca, De Jong’s inconsistency is what has pushed them to consider a sale for their number 21.

What next for Frenkie?

The chiefly central midfielder has 13 goals and 17 assists from 142 appearances for the Blaugrana. He is a player who likes to carry the ball from deep and find spaces for teammates to run into. A creative player who can dribble in tight spaces, de Jong certainly fits the requisites for what Liverpool are crying out for now.

The Reds’ current injury scare sees most of Liverpool’s first-choice midfielders sitting out. The likes of Thiago Alcantara, Curtis Jones, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all sidelined with injury. Additionally, Naby Keita suffered a setback prior to the Manchester United fixture.

With our only fit central midfielders at the moment being James Milner and Jordan Henderson, both of whom are not getting any younger by the day, Liverpool are in need of a world-class midfielder of a comparatively younger age profile.

With Keita’s contract talks also on hold, Liverpool should get a starter quality replacement. Another player the club is linked with is Jude Bellingham, but it is yet to be seen whether he will join the Reds in 2023, as it is speculated.

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Liverpool are scheduled to play two fixtures before the transfer deadline, after their shock loss to arch-rivals Manchester United. Two back-to-back home games against Bournemouth and Newcastle United after which the transfer window will end. The first game post the window is against local rivals, Everton.