Ruud Nijstad’s father breaks silence on summer Barcelona links: ‘Completely his decision’

Ruud Nijstad’s father breaks silence on summer Barcelona links: ‘Completely his decision’ Barcelona have been in the market for a new central defender for quite some time, having long failed to find the desired long-term replacement for Inigo Martinez. In the summer, the club were eyeing a move for Dutch prodigy Ruud Nijstad. But the youngster ended up remaining at FC Twente. Barcelona have since closely followed his progress , and he could yet be a potential option for the club in the near future. Ruud’s father on staying at Twente But as far as Nijstad’s summer transfer saga is concerned, his father Maurice has explained what led to the defender staying at FC Twente. Barcelona were looking to sign Nijstad in the summer. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images) “It was completely his decision,” he said (h/t Diario SPORT ) when asked about the player’s continuity at the Dutch outfit. Maurice recalled what Ruud exactly told him in the summer, when he decided not to leave the club despite interest from some of the top clubs across Europe. “I haven’t finished here yet. I want to give something back to the people at Twente who have done so much for me,” Ruud is said to have told him. Barcelona were among the clubs interested in the services of Nijstad, with Ajax, PSV and Juventus also having shown interest earlier. Ruud’s strengths and weaknesses The next big defensive prodigy in the Netherlands? (Photo courtesy: X/fctwente) In the same report, Maurice and Ruud also discuss the certain flaws in the player’s game, including his competitive when it comes to physical duels. “That’s not where my greatest strength is,” Nijstad admitted of physical battles. “I rarely get into what my father calls a duel of kicking and shoving. That was more his speciality.” Maurice agreed with the assessment, praising his son’s positional intelligence. “Ruud has a talent for positioning himself well, so that he rarely finds himself in those situations. And he didn’t inherit that from me.” At just 18, Nijstad has become an even more prominent figure in FC Twente’s defence this season and given his characteristics as a left-footed ball-playing defender, he could be an excellent addition to the Barcelona side. However, judging by his father’s comments, it appears Nijstad is not leaving FC Twente anytime soon, at least not in the upcoming January transfer window.