As the reinforcements begin to arrive and pile up at FC Barcelona, the good news for many is also met with sour news for the few that begin a descent down the hierarchy in terms of competitive standing within the club.
Reinforcements such as Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan and Girona’s Oriol Romeu are set to be great assets to Barcelona heading into the new season ahead. One brings a winning mentality and experience from the legendary modern Manchester City side and another brings a speciality to the central defensive position.
In the midst of all these added benefits, however, a particular midfielder in the form of an 18-year-old La Masia talent could be on the verge of losing his place in the first team.
According to Spanish outlet SPORT, Gavi could become one of those that feel the hardest hits due to the arrivals of these new acquisitions, as he could potentially fall down the pecking order under Xavi Hernandez.
Given that Frenkie De Jong, now one of the four captains for next season, and Pedri, considered to be the fundamental pillar of Xavi’s Barcelona, already have their places secured within the team, Gavi’s possible inclusion becomes more and more difficult.
Add to that the fact that Gundogan is Barcelona’s star signing of the season and Oriol Romeu is the club’s specialist signing to replace Busquets, Gavi loses even more of a chance to feature.
However, as has been proven before as well, Gavi remains a competitive player. Even as last season, he seemed to be a secondary outlet for Xavi considering the priority candidates to be Pedri, De Jong and Sergio Busquets, the La Masia graduate managed to convince Xavi to the point that the manager included a system that would make use of four midfielders just to incorporate him.
Having accumulated the third-highest total minutes last season behind only Ter Stegen and Robert Lewandowski, Gavi also played the most total number of games (50) behind Ansu Fati (51), Ter Stegen (50), and Raphinha (50), the statistics make it clear he was pivotal in Xavi’s plans.
It remains to be seen exactly what the Barcelona manager has in store for the youngster for the upcoming season, but given Gavi’s nature, the player from Los Palacios will do his level best to maintain his place within the first team.
*Player’s value taken from Transfermarkt.