Barcelona’s unsustainable overbooking: Xavi’s squad needs a trim

Barcelona boss Xavi Hernández finds himself facing a concerning situation as he grapples with a lack of player departures. This dilemma leaves him with an excessively large squad to manage, which poses additional challenges when it comes to planning training sessions and preparing work schedules. AS sources have revealed that a total of 27 players are expected to kick off the preseason on July 10. This group comprises not only current squad members but also loaned players and young talents from grassroots football.

However, not all players have arrived yet, as the return of 12 international players is scheduled for July 18, bringing the total count to 39 footballers. It is an utterly surreal situation that the club is eager to avoid, leading them to urgently seek solutions through player departures. Some potential bargains could be available.

Who is in Barça’s current preseason squad?

The first group of 27 players plans to undergo medical examinations on Monday. This group includes five loaned players -- Nico, Lenglet, Abde, Dest, and Collado (noting that Umtiti’s contract was recently terminated) -- and eleven grassroots players: Ángel Alarcón, Marc Casadó, Unai Hernández, Fermín López, Estanis Pedrola, Chadi Riad, Lamine Yamal, Pau Prim, Marc Guiu, Mikayil Faye, and Diego Kochen.

The remaining ten players are from last season’s squad: Marcos Alonso, Ronald Araújo, Pedri, Alejandro Balde, Raphinha, Ferran Torres, Eric Garcia, Sergi Roberto, Iñaki Peña, and Pablo Torre. Additionally, Iñigo Martínez, the second reinforcement of the season, will also join on July 10.

Among this first group, several situations are still unresolved and could potentially be resolved before Monday. Players like Lenglet and Collado are being actively pursued for transfers, and Estanis Pedrola has received multiple offers to leave.

Gündogan and other big names to join

On Tuesday, July 18, the number of players will significantly increase as twelve more footballers join, most of them international players who have participated in the Nations League or European Championship qualifiers. The notable name in this second group is Ilkay Gündogan, the star signing of the season, who leads a list that includes Robert Lewandowski, Frenkie de Jong, Marc André Ter Stegen, Ousmane Dembélé, Jules Koundé, Gavi, Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessié, Ansu Fati, and Arnau Tenas.

It’s worth mentioning the presence of goalkeeper Tenas, who, despite not having renewed his contract yet, has been included in the players undergoing medical examinations on Tuesday, July 18. Franck Kessié is also on the list, despite the club’s significant efforts to secure his transfer.

All this points to the fact that Mateu Alemany and Deco will have to urgently start offloading surplus players. This will not only ease Xavi’s training responsibilities but also free up the wage bill and, most importantly, enable the arrival of reinforcements that Xavi deems crucial, particularly in the defensive midfield position.