The appointment of Xavi Hernandezmarksthe dawn of a new era in Barcelona. Following a disappointing start to the season under Ronald Koeman, the former Spain international faces the task of steering the ship in the right direction.
It won’t be easy, at least in the short term, given the financial crisis the club is facing. Besides, with aweakened Barca roster, Xavi will hardly deliver results overnight. But that won’t prevent him from thinking about what steps the clubcould take in the future.
Maybe it won’t happen so fast, but at some point Barcelona will need to do an overhaul in their squad in order to get back to the top. An immediate clearout looks unlikely, buta couple of moves could get things going.
Report: Xavi gives green light to return of Barcelona graduate as Jordi Alba replacement
While anumber of playersmayalready bepacking their bags,otherswouldn’tleave the club soon but won’t stay at Camp Nou for much longer either. Jordi Alba, for instance, isn’t getting any younger and he’ll eventually have to be replaced.
Portuguese outlet A Bola reports that Xavi has approved the signing of Benfica left-back Alejandro Grimaldo. The 26-year-old has had a fantastic developmentat the Portuguese giants, whom he joined in 2016 from Barcelona B.
Grimaldo, by the way, would be glad with areturn to the Camp Nou and have the opportunity of playing for Los Cules’ first-team, something he has probably looked forward to doingfor solong during his time at La Masia.
Jordi Alba, 32, is under contract until 2024. He mightstay until his deal is up, but Barca would like to have an alternative before then. Grimaldo’s market value is €22m (per Transfermarkt) and his contract expires in 2023.