Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt ‘have Barcelona DNA’ Says Xavi

Barcelona legend Xavi believes Ajax duo Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt would be “very good” for the Blaugrana as they already have the club’s DNA.

The Dutch pair have been heavily linked with Barcelona, as well as Manchester City, and the Spanish giants already tried to sign De Jong in the summer, per Ignasi Oliva and Sam Lee of Goal.

Xavi, who left Barca in 2015 for Qatari club Al Sadd, believes both De Jong and De Ligt have what it takes to succeed at the Camp Nou, per Marca:

“I like them a lot, they’d be very good for Barcelona. They don’t lose the ball, they bring it out well. They already have the Barcelona DNA coming from Ajax, which has always been a good school for us. And they’re young.”

De Jong, 21, and De Ligt, 19, are both key players for an Ajax side that is re-emerging as a European force.

They are hot on the heels of Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven, who have won 15 of 16 games so far this season, and have qualified for the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

Despite his youth, centre-back De Ligt has captained the Amsterdam club this term and is perhaps the most accomplished young defender in Europe.

He recently won Tuttosport’s Golden Boy award for the most impressive under-21 player on the continent:

“Squawka Football

@Squawka

The first defender to be named Golden Boy in the award’s 15-year history. Matthijs de Ligt. 🇳🇱 https://t.co/02szMMi3a5

Midfielder De Jong, meanwhile, has been compared with the likes of Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer, and he boasts incredible skill and maturity with the ball at his feet:

“WhoScored.com

@WhoScored

Frenkie de Jong: Of the 81 players to attempt 25+ dribbles, De Jong has a better dribble success rate (93.8%) than any other player since the start of the 2017/18 Eredivisie season For more player stats — https://t.co/bxHlmKwlDq https://t.co/MdcR1VKg5j

It seems inevitable that both will move on from Ajax soon, and it would be a major coup if Barca were to snap up the pair.

De Jong and De Ligt could form the basis of a future spine for the Catalan giants and would be ideal long-term successors for the likes of Gerard Pique and Ivan Rakitic.