“The pic you’ve been waiting for,” read the post from Barcelona’s official Twitter account last month, above a photo of the team’s new coach Xavi Hernandez talking to a smiling Frenkie de Jong. 

Xavi was barely into his second week as coach but the hope was that he would already have De Jong nestled under his wing, the advice flowing from one midfielder to another and the clock counting down until the flourishing of another Dutch master in Barcelona colours. 

For three years now, including two in Spain and his final one at Ajax, the destiny of De Jong has, through no fault of his own, defined almost everything about him as a footballer.

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