With the tumultuous 2021-22 season already on the books, Xavi Hernandez heads intohis first preseason at the helm of FC Barcelona. The Spaniardtook over halfway through the campaign in November last year, so now he will finally have time to start from scratch and rebuild the roster.
The Cules have certainly improved under Xavi, but it wasn’t enough to finish the season with a piece of silverware. Barcelona finished second in La Liga, while eventual champions Eintracht Frankfurt knocked them out of the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals.
Despite the club is still battling with a financial crisis, Xavi has to find a way to get Barcelona back where they belong next season. In order to do that, he has to make important roster decisions, including what to do with Memphis Depay.
Report: Barcelona set their price for Memphis Depay
In January, it looked like Depay wouldn’t have a future at the Camp Nou with Xavi as manager. However, things have changed in the following months, with the Dutchman improving his level in the final stretch of the season.
That’s why, according to Sport, the club isn’t desperate to sell him despite he has only one year left in his contract. The report suggests that his future may depend on what will happen with Robert Lewandowski, but even if they sign the Bayern star, they will not sell Memphis for peanuts.
Barcelona would demand around €20 million to sell Memphis Depay. The 28-year-old has reportedly drawn interest from the Serie A in the past months, but other teams, like Arsenal, joined the queue over the last few weeks.
Depay may have not been a first choice for Xavi thus far, but at the end of the day, he was the team’s joint top scoreralongside Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, with 13 goals in the 2021-22 season.