Frenkie de Jong could play in defence – Xavi Hernandez | OneFootball

Barcelona are facing a defensive crisis as they go into a crucial eight-day set of fixtures against Celta Vigo, Inter and Real Madrid.

The Blaugrana head into the match without four of their defenders. Hector Bellerin, Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen all likely to miss all three of those fixtures.

Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong did return to the squad on Saturday though for the match against Celta Vigo. In his pre-match press conference, Xavi Hernandez was asked whether he might use de Jong in defence.

“Frenkie can play as a central defender, it is something we tried in preseason. He made the grade, he is a powerful player, a quick player.”

“The good thing is we have lots of multi-faceted footballers, that can play in different positions, there are other options to play in defence too. But sure, Frenkie can play there.”

While de Jong might not be the most natural option at in defence, there are only two defenders fit in Eric Garcia and Gerard Pique.

The only other option in the squad is 19-year-old defender Chadi Riad, who is yet to make his senior debut with Barcelona. He only recently made the jump to Barcelona Atletic, where he has been a regular for Rafa Marquez this season.

“We know him from the preseason and the past year,” explained Xavi.

“He has a distribution of the ball, he has size, aggression. We have been following him. A player that is already here, that has already shown things for the filial and could end up being important.”