Frenkie De Jong's performances at Barcelona have surprised his former coach, who believes that the Dutchman is feeling the pressure of expectation at Camp Nou.
De Jong has yet to truly rediscover the form that made him such a coveted asset when at Ajax, though Ronald Koeman has helped him to become a more key component to the team in the double pivot of his 4-2-3-1 formation.
READ MORE:
Ansu Fati: Player Stats, Career Stats, Position
Barcelona: Player Stats, Career Stats, Position
But he has yet to truly control the tempo of this team as of yet, and his former coach at Willem II, Jos Bogers, says that he felt De Jong was a confident kid and needs to rediscover that to be a success at Camp Nou.
Bogers said: "[De Jong] was a small player but with fabulous technique. He had a great capacity with the ball, a great vision of the game and played with children older than him.
"It surprises me that he is probably feeling the pressure to be in a team with the potential of Barcelona. It surprises me, really.
"I have seen that he plays with a certain shyness, because one of his virtues is that he always plays the same. He has never been a shy footballer."
But Bogers added that as De Jong gets more used to his surroundings and gets older and more experienced, we will see the very best version of the player at Barcelona.
He added: "Currently we see footballers of 20, 21 or 22 years old playing at the highest level, but for a midfielder the best age is between 26-28 years old.
"It is when they are mature and reach their best physical levels. I think the best version of De Jong will be at 26 or 27 years old."
Lionel Messi 
Barcelona 
Real Madrid 
