Barcelona legend praises the signings of Frenkie de Jong and Griezmann

Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta has praised the Blaugrana’s recruitment of Frenkie de Jong and Antoine Griezmann this summer. Jong was signed by the Spanish champions in January itself but the terms of the agreement meant that he would only join the club at the start of the summer transfer window. On the contrary, Griezmann’s switch from Atletico Madrid was more straightforward after the forward’s £108m release clause was triggered earlier this month.

Speaking to reporters, Iniesta hailed the qualities of De Jong and stated that the Dutchman can provide the benchmark for the club’s performances from the centre of the park. Elsewhere, the 2010 World Cup winner also praised Griezmann, who made the switch to the Camp Nou after many years of speculation, he said: “De Jong is an exceptional signing, an upward leap for the club, young, very talented and, if all goes well, will be a benchmark for the Barcelona midfield. I have said it before, Griezmann is an exceptional player, who knows La Liga and the team-mates he is going to have at Barça, so everything indicates that his career as a culé will be positive.”

The Spanish giants have comfortably won the previous two league titles but they are bound to face a stiffer challenge this time around with both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid making big-money signings of their own. Nonetheless, the Catalan giants have the more settled outfit among the three and that should once more aid the quest to win the La Liga crown.

At present, the Blaugrana are scheduled to face Vissel Kobe for a pre-season game and that should witness their reunion with Iniesta, who is currently with the J1 League outfit. Thereafter, they have friendly matches against Arsenal and Napoli respectively before they prepare themselves for the league’s curtain raiser.