Getty Xavi and Barcelona president Joan Laporta.
Barcelona look to have some bad news for new coach Xavi Hernandez when it comes to trying to strengthen the squad ahead of the opening of the January transfer window.
CEO Ferran Reverter said in October 2021 that the club had €20 million ($23m) to spend if needed in the winter but “circumstances have changed since then,” as reported by Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens at ESPN.
The club have since handed out lucrative new contracts to Ansu Fati and Pedri, while also replacing Ronald Koeman with Xavi which means the Catalan giants have “less than €10 million to spend” in January.
Barca’s financial contraints mean that the club will have to look for “low-cost options or loans” and will also “not be able to hand out big salaries,” although the club could also try to free up some space on the wage bill by offloading unwanted players.
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Barcelona To Sign a Winger?
Xavi wants to bring in a winger to strengthen an attack that has been plagued by injuries this season. Sergio Aguero is out for three months after cardiac exams, Martin Braithwaite underwent knee surgery in September, while Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele both missed the start of the season and have been sidelined again with muscle injuries.
The new coach is keen on Manchester City’s Ferran Torres and RB Leipzig’s Dani Olmo, as reported by Ferran Martinez and Gabriel Sans at Mundo Deportivo. Yet both look unrealistic options for January given Barca’s meagre budget.
Raheem Sterling continues to be mentioned as a possible option for Barcelona but there is no contact with the England international currently, according to journalist Matteo Moretto.
There has also been speculation Barca could try to bring winger Francisco Trincao back from his season-long loan at Wolves. Portuguese outlet Record reported Xavi had asked Barcelona to see if the youngsters could be recalled.
Yet those claims have been denied in AS who report Barcelona have “not even considered” trying to bring back Trincao early from his loan, as reported by Sport Witness.
Xavi Wants to Assess His Squad
Xavi appears to be in no rush when it comes to transfers and wants to take time out to assess his squad after replacing Koeman at the helm, as reported by Javi Miguel at Diario AS.
The new coach has even handed out orders to “stop” any potential transfers so he can analyze his squad and also to allow time for him to “test out” some of the club’s youngsters.
Xavi has had to start work at Barcelona without a host of first-teamers due to injury and international call-ups. Only Neto, Riqui Puig, Samuel Umtiti, Oscar Mingueza, and Luuk de Jong are fully fit and training currently.
The 41-year-old is already checking out some of the talented young players at his disposal in the meantime. Xavi called up youngsters Ilias Akhomach, Arnau Comas, Mika Marmol, Alvaro Sanz, Ez Abde, Ferran Jutgla, and Antonio Aranda for his first training session.
Xavi has continued to check out the club’s talented young stars. Under-19 players Diego Almeida Arnau Sola, Aleix Garrido, Txus Alba, Marc Casadó, Juan David Fuentes and Estanis Pedrola all took part in training on Thursday, November 11.
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