Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez has opened the door to signing a new central defender in January after Gerard Pique announced his imminent retirement.
It appears to be somewhat of a U-turn from Xavi who previously talked up the possibility of playing Frenkie de Jong in defence rather than midfield. De Jong himself had commented after being deployed in that position: "I don't care where I play, I feel comfortable when I touch the ball a lot and today it happened. I'm very happy about that."
The future of De Jong had come under intense scrutiny this year and it was also thought to be linked to that of long-serving midfielder Sergio Busquets, who is tipped to leave the club at the end of the campaign when his contract at the Camp Nou expires. Manchester United made a breakthrough in their attempts to sign the midfielder this summer, but the player wanted to stay at Barca.
