TOTY de Jong

For those that did not see the Twitter poll, we asked the question which tandem of TOTY cards you wanted to be reviewed for this weekend; and by a wide margin, the winners of the TOTY vote were the Dutch connection of Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt.  It was not the most difficult task to get them both into the squad and we jumped straight into a trial by fire with another edition of Weekend League Wars.  The best part about de Jong is also the worst, where do you want to play him?  Obviously, de Jong is one of the premier CM that is available in FUT, but he has all of the qualities you would want in a CAM and can just as easily fill in as a CDM.  I went for a mixture; playing de Jong as the CAM in a 4-2-3-1 and a CM in the 4-4-2.  de Jong passed both of the challenges with flying colors and is one of the most versatile options currently in FUT.  de Jong was the catalyst in the following squad: 
 

Overall

Rating: 9.5/10
Pace Rating: 9.6/10
Dribbling Rating: 9.8/10
Shooting Rating: 9.5/10
Passing Rating: 9.8/10
Physical Rating: 9.5/10
Defending Rating: 9/10

Due to the fact I would be deploying de Jong as a CAM, it made sense to go with the HAWK chemistry style.  Had I gone with more defensive positioning the ANCHOR chemistry style also does some amazing things to the statistics on this card. The pace is one of the most noticeable attributes with this card as Frenkie glides around the pitch with ease.  94 ACCELERATION & 91 SPRINT SPEED was a huge presence in the midfield in both formations and positions that I utilized de Jong.  Especially as a CAM, I found the ability to press the ball from the front was incredibly effective even without a chemistry boost; 93 INTERCEPTIONS, 86 STANDING TACKLE & 89 SLIDING TACKLE led to de Jong winning the ball and starting counterattacks further up the pitch.

Linkability & Current Game Strength 

Linkability Rating: 4/5
Current Game Strength Rating: 5/5

Frenkie de Jong has a lot going for him when trying to squeeze him into any squad.  The La Liga options are growing more and more effective, Barcelona has numerous strong links, while the Dutch connections were only extended by the TOTY inclusions.  I didn’t have any issues building on the inclusion of de Jong which is normally my gauge for this section.
The biggest surprise for me during this review was the shooting with this card. 99 Positioning, 92 FINISHING, & 99 SHOT POWER are fantastic statistics and I am not sure why I was caught off guard by the shooting display Frenkie put on this weekend.  I think it is the 3 STAR WEAK FOOT that is immediately concerning, but I can say without hesitation that it was not a factor.  I swear that there is some hidden statistics at play here because de Jong had the most potent 3 STAR WEAK FOOT I have used.  The 17 goal contributions in 20 games was an almost 50/50 split of right and left-footed goals.  Of course, if you are using de Jong in a more defensive position the previously mentioned defensive statistics are more than enough and whenever I called upon Frenkie to move further back in the squad he delivered there as well.

Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad

Value/Coins Rating: 5/5
Good vs Bad Rating: 5/5

1.8 million coins … that is a lot of coins and one of the most expensive reviews I have ever completed.  The question is what do you expect from a price tag in this range?  For me, I want consistency game in and game out, the ability to win you a match, and qualities that you would not find in any other cards below the price tag.  So let’s break it down …  de Jong was certainly consistent, maybe even more so as a CM then as a CAM … de Jong would often play 45 mins as a CAM and that is where the majority of the 17 goals and 7 assists came from, then finishing the game as a CM winning tackles and protecting the lead; so essentially he won me matches in more ways than one … finally, there are not many cards that can match the prowess that de Jong has in a variety of statistics… in fact, the only one is TOTY Kante and at 2.5 million it does show the “bargain” you are getting with de Jong.

I just spent a ton of time explaining just how good this card is in all areas, I honestly cannot pick out a flaw in this card.  Okay, a 5 STAR WEAK FOOT would be nice, but what else can you ask of this de Jong … even the 92 STRENGTH is overly impressive.

Closing Words

What more can I say, I was not expecting the Dutch connection to win the vote, but I am happy they did.  Wow! A word on my lips quite a few times this weekend as I praised yet another goal, assist, tackle, or just bullying of an opponent.  I honestly think this card can transform your squad if you can muster the coins to fit him in, he offers endless possibilities and can be changed based on the circumstances in-game; a priceless quality. Cheers for reading.
 

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Game Highlights: