Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez appears to have had a change of heart on midfielder Frenkie de Jong's role in the team amid ongoing transfer interest from Manchester United.
De Jong played as a 'pivot' at the base of Barca's three-man midfield in their three-goal win over Villarreal on Thursday, stepping in for Sergio Busquets in the role. It comes after United's summer-long pursuit of the Dutchman, which ultimately failed despite the club making a breakthrough in the deal.
The future of the midfielder was also thought to be linked to that of Busquets, who is tipped to leave the club at the end of the campaign when his contract at the Camp Nou expires. However, Catalan outlet Sport report that Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves - who has also been on United's radar - is their number one target for the position.
Thursday night was just the Dutchman's sixth start in the club's 14 matches across La Liga and the Champions League this season. Pedri, Gavi, Busquets and new signing Franck Kessie have been above De Jong in the pecking order.
Xavi's comments after Thursday's match suggested that he now thinks De Jong could be the long-term successor to Busquets at the club: "He played really well because he understood his role and that he was the free man who had to divide the game. He enjoyed the match, he understood his responsibility very well. I am really happy for him, he deserves it.
"Today we understood that Villarreal played with a 4-4-2 so when we got to the side-line, our pivot was free and we believe that Frenkie is the best for this position. He has understood this demand well and also his defensive responsibility. He has been very good, especially in defence."
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It comes after Xavi talked up the possibility of playing De Jong in defence rather than midfield. De Jong himself added after the match: "I don't care where I play, I feel comfortable when I touch the ball a lot and today it happened. I'm very happy about that."
The move came in the same week that De Jong criticised a "campaign with lots of lies" regarding his salary amid this summer's transfer saga linking him with an exit. He was widely reported to be the club's highest-earning player and additionally, was owed up to €17million in back payments through deferrals and amortisations.
De Jong was thought to be unhappy at how Barca attempted to sell him this summer without his blessing. The Catalan giants struck a deal to sell him to United but the player was adamant about his demands to stay at the Camp Nou.
