Barcelona players Xavi is pushing to improve
Barcelona sit fourth in the LaLiga table heading into the league’s 2024 return, as they are behind Atlético Madrid on goal difference with both Girona and Real Madrid on top by a hefty seven points.
Yet there is still hope for the defending champions to rebound and return to the summit of Spanish football. They will need another midfielder to boost their efforts, but they will also need to make more out of some of their current first-team players.
As part of that, journalist Javi Miguel reports, via barcacentre, that Barcelona manager Xavi sees his top task in the next weeks to bring up the levels of Jules Koundé, Alejandro Baldé, and Oriol Romeu.
All three players were among the best in LaLiga last season, with Romeu playing a key role for Girona in the midfield next to top Barcelona transfer target Aleix García.
Romeu, however, has failed to adequately replace Sergio Busquets in his first season with Barça as a defensive midfielder. La Blaugrana will likely sign someone else, but, even so, they need more from the solid defensive presence.
Baldé has still been good in 2023/24, but he’s been forced to play a much more defensive role in order to accommodate the risky João Cancelo on the right-hand side.
So for Xavi, getting Baldé going more offensively and balancing the defense could go a long way in helping Barça’s disappointing attack, with Baldé aiding João Félix on that shaky left-hand side of the Blaugrana attack.
Finally, Koundé has been a bit of a disappointment compared to the standard he’s set in LaLiga over the years for both Sevilla and then Barcelona in his first campaign of 2022/23.
Koundé was downright world-class, as expected, in 2022/23, including at the unfamiliar right back position. This year, he’s been decent but not quite great in defense while having some shoddy moments on the ball.
Recovering a world-class Koundé, a more active Baldé in the attack, and the Girona version of Romeu would go a long way in helping the Blaugrana close the gap on their local and eternal rivals atop the league table.
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