FC Barcelona are currently coached by a manager who has put an extreme emphasis on the reliance he has on his wingers from day one. Xavi Hernandez considers the wingers in his system to be pivotal in ensuring his team plays the expansive and line-breaking football he wants them to play.
With the likes of Frenchman Ousmane Dembele and Brazilian Raphinha at his disposal at FC Barcelona, the right-wing position is well-sorted in terms of depth. Xavi prefers both for varying effects and unique reasonings when they’re deployed within his squad. Width, expansive football, the ability to take on 1v1s, and so on, his wingers must be multi-faceted.
In recent revelations, as per SPORT, there is another winger that Xavi inherently likes and acknowledges who currently plies his trade in the German Bundesliga, and he goes by the name of Serge Gnabry.
Gnabry operates primarily as a right winger and can be deployed as a left winger as well as a second striker to an extent. Across his 47 appearances for Bayern this season, he has an impressive balance of 17 goals and 12 assists.
However, simply because the coach approves of the player doesn’t ensure that Barcelona will pursue his signature. Currently valued at €55 million, any asking price Bayern Munich set for him would currently be unfeasible for Barca on a financial level despite him being one of the three players that the German giants are willing to let go of in the summer.
Simultaneously, Barcelona are thought to be currently more focused on securing a backup striker for Robert Lewandowski at the moment since they lack quality depth in that position.
Moreover, any potential signing of his would also feel unnecessary as it would be surplus to requirements. Now that Xavi Hernandez has stated that he would prefer for Raphinha to stay next season, Barcelona are already well-sorted in that particular right-wing slot. As of right now, a transfer to Barcelona for Serge Gnabry seems quite improbable.