Joao Cancelo has been surprised by Frenkie De Jong’s quality at Barcelona (Getty)
Joao Cancelo has named Frenkie de Jong as the player who has surprised him the most after he joined Barcelona from Manchester City.
The Portugal international completed a loan move to Barca in September and has quickly established himself as a key player for Xavi’s side in just three months.
De Jong, meanwhile, is currently in his fifth season at Barca having joined in a £65 million deal from Ajax in 2019.
The Netherlands international was Erik ten Hag’s top midfield target for Manchester United last year but despite Barca being open to a sale, the 26-year-old was adamant that he would not leave Camp Nou.
And Cancelo believes Barca have managed to keep hold of a rare midfield talent.
When asked which player surprised him the most after he joined Barcelona, Cancelo said on the 1 Para 1 podcast: ‘Without a doubt, Frenkie de Jong.
Erik ten Hag was desperate for Manchester United to sign Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona (Getty)
‘[Ilkay] Gundogan is also fantastic but I already knew him [from Man City].
‘The impact, the greatest impact I have seen, in terms of quality, here has been Frenkie de Jong.
‘If you trained with him or watched him train, you would realise that he has something different, different attributes.
‘At the level of Rodri, of course, Rodri’s physical build gives him attributes that Frenkie doesn’t have but technically, Frenkie is very good.’
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