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Xavi Has Made A Huge Call And Put One Barcelona Player Up For Sale

Xavi Has Made A Huge Call And Put One Barcelona Player Up For Sale

The new Barcelona manager will have a tough task balancing a young squad and a lack of finances so he's willing to sell one huge name.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

New Barcelona manager Xavi is ready to make a huge decision on his team, and has decided one of his best players is available for transfer.

Xavi has a lot of work to do if he's to return the club he helped to so much success as a player to those heights as a manager, especially with their financial problems.

The team are currently ninth and already 11 points off top of the table Real Sociedad after just 12 games, whilst progress into the Champions League knockout stages is also far from secure.

Barca's financial issues means it'll be hard for the 41-year-old to bring in the players he needs to help improve their fortunes on the pitch, and he has his eyes on some real quality.

He could sell players to boost his transfer kitty and, according to El Chiringuito, he is ready to offload one of his best players in Frenkie de Jong.

The 24-year-old has been one of the few consistently performing players for the Catalan side since moving from Ajax in 2019, following their run to the Champions League semi-finals.

De Jong is considered one of the best young midfielders in the world and would certainly attract interest from any of the top teams in Europe.

That is one reason why Xavi would be willing to sell the Dutch midfielder, as he could use the money to buy players in the positions that need strengthening.

The new Barca boss would have looked at his squad and thought that he has some excellent talent in midfield and it's one place he can afford to lose someone.

De Jong's excellence hasn't been dimmed by Barcelona's poor form. Image: PA Images
De Jong's excellence hasn't been dimmed by Barcelona's poor form. Image: PA Images

Youngsters Pedri and Gavi have really impressed, the latter drawing comparisons with Xavi's former midfield partner Andres Iniesta, and already become regular first team starters.

The club also have Riqui Puig, whose career stalled under Koeman but could feature again, and Nico who are both still young and Sergio Busquets and Sergi Roberto as more experienced hands in midfield.

Manchester City and Juventus could be among those who would look to bring De Jong in, if the price is right, having fought Barca for his signing in 2019.

Gavi's emergence means the club aren't as reliant on De Jong as they might have been going forward. Image: PA Images
Gavi's emergence means the club aren't as reliant on De Jong as they might have been going forward. Image: PA Images

Whilst the club are looking to offload some players they have also brought one back in the shape of Dani Alves, with the 38-year-old returning four years after he left the club.

During his first spell at the Nou Camp, the Brazil star became the greatest right back in the world and completely redefined the role through his partnership on that side of the pitch with Lionel Messi.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Transfers, Frenkie De Jong, Xavi, Barcelona, La Liga

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

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@Sidler28