The cases of several Barcelona players that are considered to be out of favor and excluded from the plans of head coach Xavi Hernandez for next season are yet to be finalized and sorted out, but their operations are gaining momentum.
One such player hails from the esteemed realms of La Masia, the youth academy of FC Barcelona, and has recently just ended a loan spell at another La Liga outfit as he is set to return to the Catalan capital.
According to the report provided by SPORT, Barcelona youngster Nico Gonzalez is not in Xavi’s plans for next season, and following the return of the 21-year-old Spaniard, Barcelona will look to offload him right away, as he is not even in the list of players yet to be tested out during the pre-season.
Despite his ability to play as a defensive midfielder, a position in which Barcelona lacks specialists at the moment, the Catalan outfit believes there are others who could better reinforce it and will look to rely on them instead. Moreover, even as an interior, the player would barely be awarded any game time considering the substantial quality Barcelona already possesses in that position.
The report further states that the most interested party at the moment remains Spanish outfit Real Betis, who are willing to take Nico away for a year on loan as they take responsibility of his financial payments, something that has already been communicated to soon-to-be Barcelona Sporting Director Deco.
Moreover, the same words have also been addressed towards the player’s agent, Jorge Mendes, as he has been requested to ensure fluidity in negotiations and ensure the commencement of the proposed operation.
With Real Betis set to compete in this season’s UEFA Europa League and simultaneously provide the 21-year-old Spaniard a good amount of game time and experience, those at Barcelona are believed to be considering this a positive offer and one that they ideally would like to accept.
However, Barcelona are still not willing to let Nico leave on permanent basis and continue to only allow loan moves as acceptable. The club considers him to have potential for the future and thus wishes to retain ownership over his services in the long run.
