Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez made the message clear to the club’s management, by making the team in the best possible shape in order to compete for all the titles next season.
The club signed this summer with Robert Lewandowski, Rafinha, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kissier so far, and is on the cusp of signing French defender Jules Conde from Seville.
Although the cost of the deal might reach 60 million euros, Xavi wants to sign another central defender during the current summer transfer window.
Who is the other defender that Barcelona will include?
The Spanish newspaper “Sport” said that Xavi is determined to include Athletic Bilbao defender Inigo Martinez, who was expected to include him in the event of the failure of the Conde deal.
But the surprise is his desire to include the French defender in addition to Martinez together, to strengthen the team’s defense line, which has clearly suffered over the course of last season.
Barcelona aspires to take advantage of Martinez’s position with Bilbao, as his contract with the Basque club expires in June 2023 and he has not signed a new contract yet, which may force his club to sell him this summer for a reduced fee instead of losing it for free.
It is expected that Barcelona and Bilbao will enter into intensive negotiations during the next few days, to reach an agreement regarding a reasonable price for the player, other than the penalty clause in his contract of 80 million euros.
Doubts regarding Pique
“Sport” indicated Xavi’s desire to rely on Inigo Martinez as a tactical alternative in the center of the left defense, and he can also play as a basic in the 3/4/3 plan.
The Barcelona defense line will be formed with this plan from Conde, Martinez and Ronald Araujo, with Eric Garcia and Andreas Christensen on the bench.
This may complicate the position of veteran defender Gerard Pique amid doubts regarding his fitness, and therefore we may see him on the bench in many matches under the leadership of Xavi.
