Xavi’s ‘hot potatoes’

The moment of truth is approaching, in which Xavi has to begin to rebuild a decimated, unbalanced and misplaced squad in every way. Starting in January, the club has to get serious and start doing its homework to re-found an institution from its ashes and put it back in the world order. With this priority and unavoidable challenge of getting new reinforcements, the club has to begin to remove, as soon as possible, a heavy backpack, both in tokens and in salaries. And in that sense, The sports management has five players that Xavi considers expendable for his project. In AS we put first and last names to the members of this list:

Sergiño Dest: It is the most surprising and obvious case at the same time. The former Ajax player seemed called to be the future Dani Alves, but already with Ronald Koeman it was evident that he still had a long way to go due to his enormous ups and downs in the game. Versatile and skilled, he seemed to have all the virtues they like in ‘can Barça’, but Xavi’s arrival on the bench precipitated his ostracism. His problems understanding the positional game are candid and in Munich he ended up signing his epitaph, by not doing anything that the coach asked him to do, being abronado and substituted at halftime. In his environment they excuse themselves from low back pain and various discomforts to argue such low performance, but the truth is that the technicians consider him a totally expendable player and that the club would do well to find an outlet for him in the winter market and try to get a slice, between 15 to 20 million in a transfer, before it is further devalued. The latest news indicates that Bayern Munich would be interested again.

Yusuf Demir: The young Austrian has the slab of a clause that the club has to pay 10 million euros to Rapid Vienna if he adds ten games with the first team. Obviously, this option is not going to be executed, so the technicians consider that the best option is to terminate the assignment this January. He is a budding talent, but with many problems understanding Barcelona’s positional game. In fact, his contribution to Barcelona, ​​since Xavi’s arrival, is practically testimonial: 72 minutes, always starting as a substitute, less in the game against Benfica, where he started.

Luke de Jong: The Dutch forward is an example as a professional and his work in training is flawless. Xavi is very happy with his dedication and sacrifice, but the international is not the striker that Barcelona needs. His problems in the current style of play were clearly evident against Osasuna, where despite playing the whole game, he did not know how to move between the lines, or create spaces and let alone find a goal, as he was not able to finish at any time between the three suits. Right now, even a rookie like Ferran Jutglà is ahead of him. It is considered that the best solution is to terminate your assignment.

Philippe Coutinho: It is the most flagrant case, the player with the highest record in the squad, almost 22 million euros, who is not a starter, who is not decisive and who does not count in the coach’s short or medium-term plans. His departure is presented as the best solution to free up the salary mass and adapt the financial ‘fair play’ to the reinforcements that will come in January. With Xavi he has only started one game, against Betis (0-1), also playing only 59 minutes before his null contribution. It is considered one of the great fiascos in the history of the club, signed with great fanfare by Bartomeu for almost 130 million euros. With a contract until 2023, right now the Brazilian forward is more of a problem than a solution. Anything that is an exit in the winter market, whether in the form of a transfer or assignment, would be considered an unprecedented success in the technical secretariat.

Samuel Umtiti: The French central is a victim of his own mistakes. His stubbornness in not having surgery on his left knee three years ago has led him to this veritable dead end. With one of the highest chips in the squad, he is right now the last center-back on the team, having played only one game this season. Given this situation, the only possible way is to leave the club. However, it seems difficult for someone to take the bait because for many we are talking about a “former player”. Xavi considers it the most recoverable of the five, but is also aware that its entry into the winter market would be the most appropriate for all parties. In addition, young people like Comas and Mármol press very hard in the subsidiary and everything indicates that the coach wants to give them much more ball from January, taking into account that the Copa del Rey begins. In the case of Umtiti, the club would not rule out even an agreed termination of the contract, although it seems today a very distant option.