It’s going to be an interesting summer for Barcelona for any number of reasons, and it looks as if the Catalans may have already jumped ahead of Man United in the queue for one sought after midfield ace.
The first task that sporting director, Deco, has is to replace outgoing manager, Xavi Hernandez.
Though the former legendary midfielder hasn’t been the success in the post that it was hoped he would be, replacing him is still going to be a difficult task.
Whomever comes in is inheriting a squad feeling a bit sorry for themselves and who are by and large placing their faith in 16-year-old Lamine Yamal to help write a new chapter in Barca history.
After years of financial issues that have translated to the pitch and meant that most targets are out of reach for the club, the new manager needs to find a way in which to unify the squad and fan base, and get the best out of every player in order to bring back the standards and success that has generally eluded the club of late.
There’s also the not insignificant matter of squad regeneration, and as 3CAT (h/t Football Transfers) note, Barcelona have entered the race to sign Juventus’ 28-year-old midfielder, Adrien Rabiot.
The Frenchman has made 437 career appearance according to transfermarkt, and that type of experience will certainly help the club get back to somewhere approaching its best.
A deal hasn’t yet been done, and it remains to be seen who will win the race to sign a player who once refused to be on France’s World Cup standby list, incurring Didier Deschamps’ wrath in the process.