Last season the Xavi revolution was clear for all to see as Barcelona had an impressive second half of the 2021/22 La Liga campaign to finish as runners up to Real Madrid.
When the former Blaugrana midfielder arrived as head coach of the Camp Nou he had an immediate impact and made some shrewd January signings which transformed the Catalans. Now he wants to strengthen again and the latest La Liga 2022 betting odds say his team is not at all far behind Real Madrid in the betting markets. But Xavi needs some new blood in and, with just five weeks to go before the new season starts, there is a lot of work to be done on and off the field.
Barca fans have been getting a little anxious but, to be fair to the club, Xavi has already made two decent signings. Midfield star Franck Kessie has arrived from 2022 Scudetto winners AC Milan and Spurs free agent Andreas Christensen has arrived to bolster the defence. Kessie said he was happy to join Barcelona to play under Xavi, who he believes can improve his midfield game, and he has signed a four year contract.
But there hasn’t been any serious movement on the big saga of the summer as FC Bayern star Robert Lewandowski is still in Munich. The Polish striker announced his intention to leave the Bundesliga champions as soon as he emerged from the showers after the last game of the 2021/22 campaign!
But Barca are still restricted by the Primera Division’s Financial Fair Play rules and that means they may not be able to recruit before they sell. President Joan Laporta has insisted Manchester United target Frenkie de Jong is not for sale and the Dutch player wants to stay with the club; but Barca are no where near Bayern’s asking price for Lewandowski and the wait goes on.
Another player in Xavi’s sights is Leeds United wide man Raphinha but before anything happens there it remains to be seen whether Ousmane Dembele stays at the Camp Nou. It looked like the France striker had performed a U-Turn after the club tabled a new contract offer for him but reports in the Spanish media says that he and his agent are still weighing up their options.
And while Christensen is a solid addition, Barcelona have offloaded their centre back Clement Lenglet who has become a Tottenham Hotspur player. It will be interesting to see whether Spurs boss Antonio Conte can get the best out of the France international after securing his services on loan. He was superb at Sevilla but has blown hot and cold with the Blaugrana.
Clement’s departure, and with Gerard Pique not getting any younger, there is another space at centre back to fill and Sevilla’s current defensive star, Jules Kounde, is the player Xavi fancies. The France star wants to come to Barcelona but he too needs to wait.
Bale heads to USA
During the last couple of seasons this SBOTOP writer has been trying to work out where Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale is off to. Once he had made it clear that he was not happy at the Bernabeu and the Los Blancos fans mirrored his displeasure it looked certain that he was moving to China, before turning up at his old club Spurs. In this close season there were even rumours that he was about to sign for English second tier club Cardiff City but that didn’t come off.
Well the La Liga 2022 news is clearer on Bale’s future for sure. The Wales star has finally landed in the United States of America after signing for California based Los Angeles FC on a one year deal with an option to extend. At 32 years of age the MLS club is getting a player wit plenty left in the tank. His nine year stay at the Santiago Bernabeu hasn’t been the happiest but Bale’s goal conversion rate has been impressive with 81 goals in 176 appearances for Los Blancos.
Real boss Carlo Ancelotti wants to strengthen but, like Xavi, he needs to raise some funds and with Marco Asensio entering the final year of his contract he might be the man to go. Asensio scored 12 goals last term and has been monitored by some of Europe’s top clubs, including Liverpool, but there hasn’t been a solid offer for the 26 year old Spain star as yet. One striker who has already left the building is Luka Jovic who has signed a two year deal with Serie A club Fiorentina. The Serbian hitman hopes to revive his fortunes with La Viola after a wretched time in Madrid where he scored just three goals in 36 appearances.
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