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.
However, Catalan outlet Diario Sport have subsequently claimed that Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves is Barca’s number one target for that position, which appears to suggest that De Jong will still not have an automatic starting role at the club – amid the presence of Pedri, Gavi and Franck Kessie.
Yet it is not only in midfield in which the Blaugrana are looking to invest within their squad but the upcoming exit of Pique is likely to force their hand in the January market. That is despite Andreas Christensen and Jules Kounde being signed this summer, adding to options such as Eric Garcia and Ronald Araujo in the position.
A report in the aftermath of Pique’s announcement from Mundo Deportivo added that Barca are actively now looking to add another centre back, with Athletic Club Bilbao defender Inigo Martinez said to be at the top of their wanted list.
Have Your Say! Are Barcelona underusing Frenkie de Jong? Tell us what you think here.
Barca boss Xavi told reporters at a pre-match press conference of his transfer plans ahead of Barca’s clash against Almeria this weekend: "We are going to see what happens. But knowing that Gerard is going, maybe we will look for a centre-back in January. We will analyse things after the Osasuna game."
Pique will be available for selection against Barca’s upcoming matches in La Liga against Almeria and Osasuna, while he has surprisingly been included in the 55-man Spain preliminary squad for this month’s World Cup finals in Qatar. The veteran defender has not been capped at international level since 2018.
Veteran defender Pique has clocked up 615 first-team appearances for the Catalan club but has only started just five matches this season, which came due to injuries to other central defenders.
