I'm sure I don't need to explain this one, but we're hoping to apparently sell Frenkie de Jong to United and replace him with Bernardo Silva. Lots of opinions on this, and the fanbase seems to be split into two, as is the case with most things Frenkie. This post probably wouldn't change anyone's opinion, but still, I thought it'd be fun to look at which one of these players would be a better fit for Barca/Xavi.

I'll try to keep personal biases to a minimum; Frenkie is possibly my favorite player in football at the moment, but I greatly admire Bernardo and have wanted him at Barca for a while now, so I'm hoping things more or less balance out.

Right. Anyway, let's get to it.

It's evident that Xavi wants another interior midfielder, who can play higher up the pitch, win the ball upfield, and create a goal threat. Frenkie has struggled to adapt to that role, as he thrives much deeper, and is more of a ball carrier breaking through the lines. Let's see how that translates statistically in comparison to Bernardo. I'll be analyzing their passing stats, goal/shot creation and impact on game, stats in possession, and defensive stats.

Stats taken from fbref for the 21-22 season.

A. Passing Stats (p90)

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• Both players have extremely high passing accuracy, a desirable trait for any Barcelona player, particularly in midfield.
• As expected, Frenkie progresses the ball far better and for a much longer distance, being one of the best players in the world at it.
• Interestingly, however, Bernardo has more key passes into the final third resulting in shots and goals. Evidently, he is much more effective in delivering the final ball, something which Frenkie has struggled to meet Xavi's expectations at. In a sense, Bernardo is much more 'efficient' with his progressive passing as it translates to better results up the pitch, whereas most of Frenkie's progressiveness comes much deeper on the pitch.

B. Stats in Possession (p90)

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• This is where the picture starts to become clearer. Despite a similar involvement in play, Bernardo is much more successful and effective with his dribbling, particularly in progressing the ball forward.
• He's also staggeringly good at carrying the ball into the penalty area, something Frenkie has sorely been lacking and an attribute that Xavi heavily desires (also a reason why he likes Ferran Torres and Dembele)

C. Defensive Stats (p90)

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• Here's where it gets even more interesting. Though the number of tackles per 90 by itself isn't radically different, Bernardo checks all the right areas for Xavi, whereas Frenkie doesn't.
• Bernardo's defensive contribution blows Frenkie's out of the water, having more than 2x the tackles in the defensive third. His lack of defensive effort is something Frenkie has been heavily criticized for in recent months.
• Bernardo also presses extremely well, particularly in the attacking third, which helps City massively in being able to win the ball further up the pitch and create quick turnovers and counterattacks. Xavi wants a similar profile from his interior midfielders, so Bernardo's aggression is a fantastic quality in his favor.
• Note: pressures in the middle and defensive thirds are almost equal for both players, so the entire difference in the total pressures is caused by Bernardo's proactiveness closer to the opposition's box.

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D. Overall Impact on Game (p90)

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• This is, surprisingly (and for me, sadly) the nail in the coffin. While FDJ is not bad at creating opportunities for shots and goals, Bernardo is just in a class of his own.
• This is further demonstrated by the expected goals scored minus the expected goals allowed by the team while the player was on the pitch ( /- xG). Frenkie has a significant net positive on Barca, but Bernardo's impact on the pitch is three times as significant when he's playing.
• The On-Off measures the net expected goals by the team while the player is on the pitch minus the net expected goals by the team when the player is off the pitch. Thus, when they're both not playing, Bernardo's team feels his absence far more than Barca feels Frenkie's.

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Overall, as much as I love Frenkie as a player, this analysis was a bit of an eye-opener on his actual impact on the team. While I strongly believe he is a fantastic player, and one of the best midfielders in the world in the right setup, it seems as though that is not destined to happen at Barca -- unless there is a major change in formation/tactics to build the team around him, as was the case at Ajax and in the Netherlands.

Unfortunately, fbref does not have detailed stats like these for Eredivisie and national teams, so it's really quite difficult to make the case for such a drastic change in the team's shape, style, and identity. Given the profiles of players we currently have, and the tactical preferences of our coach, it seems as though Bernardo Silva would be a far better fit for Barcelona than Frenkie de Jong.