Frenkie De Jong looks set to wear Xavi's famous No 6 shirt for Barcelona next season – that will be fitting, because he is an important part of a desire to get the old Barcelona identity back again.
The club has been accused of buying brawn over ball-players in recent years with midfielders such as Paulinho and Arturo Vidal.
But the arrival of Arthur Melo in the summer, and his subsequent success in midfield, has seen the club change direction.
De Jong takes them further back down the road towards the profile of player the purists among the club's supporters want to see.
Long term, the 21-year-old De Jong, looks destined for Sergio Busquets' holding role in the middle of the midfield three, but Busquets, 30, has a few more years left in him yet and so De Jong could well end up not just with Xavi's old No but also in his old position to the right of Busquets.
He is the player the club really wanted. That much was evident by the efforts made in the last week just as it seemed Paris Saint Germain were starting to steal a march on Barça.
El Mundo Deportivo reported on Thursday that last week Barcelona's sporting director Eric Abidal and General manager Pep Segura met with the player in a three hour hotel meeting in Amsterdam.
The player's agent then watched Barcelona v Leganes in the Nou Camp on Sunday and agreed in principal that de Jong would be moving to Catalonia.
President Josep Bartomeu then flew into Amsterdam this week with chief executive Oscar Grau to close the deal with Ajax's sporting director Marc Overmars.
That top brass trip to Holland finally put paid to any chances that Barcelona would lose out to PSG.
Barcelona signing De Jong for what could end up as £75m also sends out a message to PSG forward Neymar that the financial priorities currently lie elsewhere.
The already slim chance that the Brazilian would return to the Camp Nou look even slimmer now.
De Jong has gone to Barcelona because they have assured him he has a first-team immediate future. The club have denied the suggestion they will pay him £14m a season.
It's more likely he will start in the third tier of Barca's pay scale. But he will play. That much has been rammed home in the last week of negotiations.
He will be used in three different roles. He will fit into the centre and the right of Barcelona's midfield three to give rest to Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic.
And when not replacing one of those two he will compete with Arthur for the third midfield spot.
De Jong has also played at centre-back but there are no plans for Barcelona to use him there. They would much rather bring in his friend and current Ajax team-mate Matthijs De Ligt.
It won't be easy because Bayern Munich are also interested and De Ligt's agent is Mino Raiola. But De Ligt tweeted on Wednesday 'Congrats amigo' and wants to go to Barcelona if the club can match Bayern's financial commitment.
For now supporters are imagining a team with De Jong sweeping the ball around the Nou Camp wearing the No 6 made famous by their greatest ever midfielder.
samhain10
51
perfect No.6 and 8 De Jong and Arthur but No.10 show be frame in FC Barcelona trophy collection or Musuem as there will be no one capable to handle the Jersey after Lionel Messi .
Huebdmu
38
De Jong will be a Barca player come next season, the midfield looks awful next season and in future however it's time to look at the defence now and finally the strike force to compliment young Dembele. De Ligt will be a dream come true if he was to be slotted in Gerrard Pique's position. Pique said he had a season to go,if he had an understudy like De Ligt them Barcelona will be home and dry. It may look unfair to the lads in La Massia academy but honestly they have not stepped up to the plate like Xavi, Iniesta, Pique, Messi did despite some sporadic game time in the first team. I have confidence La Massia will live up to it's status soon meanwhile the was to go is bring in De Ligt.