The Barcelona boss is keen to make big changes in his squad after the painful defeat against Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich defeated Barcelona with a 3-0 result on Wednesday, relegating the Catalans to the Europa League. This will be the first time Barcelona will play in the second-tier competition in over two decades.
Following an underwhelming start to the season under former boss Ronald Koeman, Barcelona replaced the Dutchman with Xavi Hernandez. However, Xavi’s return has not tangibly impacted Barca’s performances.
The Catalans still struggle to score goals, while their instability in defence provides way too many chances for their opponents. The performance against Bayern exposed Barca’s biggest problems.
The German side dominated the game without some of their key men, while Barcelona couldn’t create decent chances. After the match, Xavi admitted his side’s problems but vowed to get them back on track.
Three unwanted players!
According to renowned journalist Gerard Romero, Xavi is keen to make several changes in the Barcelona squad. The manager wants to offload Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Sergino Dest and Frenkie de Jong from his team.
Ter Stegen has attracted widespread criticism for his underwhelming performances this season. Newcastle are reportedly keen to add the German keeper to their ranks. However, if he gets on the club’s transfer list, he will most likely have more suitors.
Xavi is also open to the idea of selling De Jung. The Dutchman has been far from his best form in the current campaign. His performance against Bayern displayed his constant struggle to balance his defensive and offensive traits. De Jong has attracted interest from several clubs, with Barcelona hoping to get a decent transfer fee for the 24-year-old.
Xavi is also targeting to replace right-back Sergino Dest in his squad. Eighteen months after his move from Ajax, the USMNT international is still struggling to reach his best form at Barcelona. Xavi rarely uses Dest in his lineup. Despite being a centre-back, Ronald Araujo usually replaces Dest on the right-hand side.
What does it mean for Barcelona?
Unlike Dest, De Jong and Ter Stegen are regular starters at Barcelona. The club must eye replacements, at least for these two, if they intend to sell them any time soon.
Man City’s Ferran Torres is reportedly Barca’s number one transfer target for the January window. However, the Citizens’ possible demand of a £60m fee might fend off Barcelona due to their severe financial problems.
Following their bitter defeat against Bayern, Barcelona will continue their La Liga campaign with a match against Osasuna on Sunday.
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