While FC Barcelona were able to significantly strengthen their midfield last summer, Xavi wanted another midfielder in the last days of the market. However, time was too short for Barcelona to fulfill this desire of Xavi in the summer.
The main priority of the Barcelona head coach was Bernardo Silva from Manchester City. The Portuguese was reported to be open to a move to Catalonia as he wanted to play nearer to his native Portugal, but Manchester City were unwilling to let him leave in a summer when they already had lost several important players.
Barcelona want an attacking midfielder
However, Silva was not the only player that would have satisfied Xavi. Barcelona were also heavily linked with the Argentine midfielder, Giovani Lo Celso, who is currently playing with Tottenham after playing the last two seasons on loan at Villarreal. However, his move could also not materialize this summer.
Now Mundo Deportivo reports that there is another midfielder from Villarreal that Barcelona have been interested in. This player is Alex Baena, whom Xavi really likes, and who has the passing capabilities to fit perfectly to the profile that the head coach wants in Barcelona.
Villarreal midfielder fits Barcelona’s criteria
The midfielder extended his contract with Villarreal last season, and his contract with the Yellow Submarines now goes up to 2028. His release clause is set at €60 million, a sum that is not too out of bounds for Barcelona, especially if their financial conditions improve in coming years.
For now, Barcelona have the opportunity to keep monitoring Baena’s performances in his current club. He might not be needed by the Catalans at all if Pablo Torre is able to develop himself adequately while on loan at Girona.
Still, Barcelona do need a midfielder who specializes in the final pass as the club currently believes they are too reliant on Pedri in this aspect. This has led to an overload of burden on the young midfielder, who has been suffering from muscle overloads since last season and is currently also out of action with an injury.
However, as already reported here, two other Barcelona targets, Bernardo Silva and Dani Olmo, have also lowered their release clauses in their latest contracts, and their new clauses are also in the same bracket as Baena’s. Thus, Barcelona have multiple options for this position, but Baena being the youngest can tilt the scales in his favour.
