The new season will be one that forces FC Barcelona to take drastic measures. La Blaugrana have suffered in this latest campaign, and they do not wish to have a repeat of it. The first big message to showcase this comes through the appointment of a new coach at FC Barcelona, with Xavi Hernandez already set to leave.
In his stead, German coach Hansi Flick is expected to arrive at the Catalan club. The former Bayern Munich man will bring in his own desires and philosophies to help out Barcelona, and his arrival will likely produce different sensations within the team too from both the players and possibly the Barcelona board.
One of those elements of change that Flick could bring in is the reliability he will put on retaining Barça’s stars. As highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, Flick will now interact with Barcelona director Deco in the hopes of completing a team that is more competitive next season, and this would mean avoiding the possibility of selling some of Barça’s biggest stars.
One such star would be Ronald Araujo, who Barcelona definitely do not wish to sell. Aged just 25, La Blaugrana believe he has many more years ahead of him at the top level and they wish to retain his services as he continues to develop.
Despite the fact that contract negotiations for his renewal have stalled, he still has two years left on his contract and Barcelona certainly do not wish to see him leave.
While teams like Bayern Munich and Chelsea have shown interest in the player, simultaneously being willing to offer him great economic proposals, Barcelona still holds onto hope. They are aware of this external interest and they also know that Araujo’s intentions are not yet fully known, but Flick’s arrival could nudge him towards the path that keeps him at Barcelona.
The other players who will definitely be a part of Flick’s operation moving forward are Frenkie De Jong, Pedri, and Gavi. While the continuity of both Pedri and Gavi is a given, it would appear that Flick and Barcelona do not wish to let go of De Jong either.
Despite the Dutchman’s inconsistencies, they think that the 27-year-old still has more in him to showcase and turn his situation around.
All three midfielders that have been named have not had the best of seasons in this latest campaign. Lengthy periods on the sideline have kept them from featuring as often as Barcelona would have ideally liked, but that is exactly why all of them will be treated as new signings for Barcelona next season, a campaign in which they aspire to do much better.
