FC BARCELONA
Which players do Xavi and Barcelona want to sign this summer?
The Catalan side are, all of a sudden, looking to improve the squad that won the LaLiga title but failed in Europe.
“We need more”, said Xavi after the Clásico at AT&T Stadium that saw them thrash Real Madrid 3-0. At that moment, he knew that Ousmane Dembélé was on his way to PSG, and he sent a message to his bosses explaining that “Real Madrid have a more physical central midfield and a deeper squad.”
In Dallas, and with the ‘Dembélé case’ all but signed, the Barça boss wrote his wish-list to Laporta: a right-back, a midfielder and, after the loss of Ousmane, a forward.
However, Xavi has one name written in red, one he doesn’t want: João Félix. For the second time, the coach has said no to the Portuguese player, as he does not fit into his tactical plans for the upcoming season in Barcelona.
Dembélé has disappointed Xavi with his rapid exit
The newest change to the Barça squad is the rapid reaction to the sale of Dembélé, a player who has disappointed Xavi greatly with his decision to leave the club, just two weeks after telling his boss that winning the Champions League with Barça was his main objective. Now he’s gone. The exit of the winger forces Barça to move again in the market, this time fishing for a forward.
On first glance, it may seem that a winger is needed, but Vitor Roque is also a new member of the squad, and could play a role if Barça choose to bring him in a year early, now they have some wiggle room on the salary sheet.
Which midfielder will Barcelona sign?
The rest of the desired squad changes are already known: Xavi wants a right-back and the option of Fresneda is not a certainty. His preferred choice for the place in the starting XI is actually João Cancelo, who would come in and provide a forward push needed given the impending exit of Dembélé.
Barça, however, would have to negotiate with Manchester City, and the relationship between the two parties - Xavi and Pep Guardiola - are not at their prettiest right now. Bernardo Silva still continues to be the number one wish for Xavi, but Barça are knocking on a closed door in that regard, and as such, Lo Celso is another option. However, the technical staff admit that Dembélé's departure, one of the manager’s most valued players, means that they have gone back to the drawing board as far as squad planning is concerned.
