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With Girona being more than just a local rival this time, FC Barcelona will need to be at their very best. The Blaugranes aim to finish at least second in La Liga this time around, but for that, they must first overcome a great hurdle.

Barcelona versus Girona will be a contest between Catalans, and it is a grand encounter for both this time. Traveling away to the Montilivi, many Barcelona players will aspire to put in a proper show.

One man who definitely hopes to ensure that he shows his best level will be Jules Kounde. Since the beginning of 2024, the Frenchman has improved greatly, and he has some unfinished business with Girona.

As highlighted by SPORT, the last encounter between the two sides left Kounde scarred. The threat of both Sávio and Miguel Gutierrez continuously harmed the Frenchman’s game and made him unable to stop their collective powers as they continued to bombard his flank of the Barcelona defense.

This time around, with La Blaugrana much more refined and focused, they hope to give Girona a tougher time. Barcelona and Xavi Hernandez, coupled with their hungry players, will want to ensure that they do not give Girona any more breathing room than they already have.

Kounde, in particular, will hope to revisit the levels he showed against the likes of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Kylian Mbappe in the Champions League. This time, he faces an opponent that has harmed him before, and could do so in the future, so the Frenchman will reportedly be more than hopeful to get some revenge.

Furthermore, with the summer transfer window fast approaching, the players know the consequences of poor performances. With the club not against making a big sale or two in the summer, no player is perfectly untouchable.

However, stars like Jules Kounde who still have a respectable market out there will need to put in an even greater shift to retain their place.

Estevao Willian was in focus once again this week as he starred for Palmeiras in their win 2-1 win over Botafogo.

The youngster notably scored the winner in the final few minutes of the game, which added further gloss to a brilliant display that saw him terrorise the opposition defenders.

Palmeiras coach’s plea to club

Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira was head over heels with Estevao Willian’s performance against Botafogo. So much so, that the coach made a plea to Palmeiras’ president, urging him to keep hold of the player.

“Speaking of Estevao, I’m not going to say what I think, I’m going to ask Leila – the president of Palmeiras –  not to sell this player. The father, the manager and he will be sad. Let him stay with us until 2027,” Abel said (h/t Mundo Deportivo).

Abel’s plea, though, is unlikely to have much of an effect on the future of Estevao, who is courted by several top European clubs including Barcelona.

Palmeiras, still fresh from offloading Endrick for a fortune, are aware of Estevao’s demand in the market. Not to mention, the player has a hefty €45 million release clause, which is quite significant for a player of his age.

Estevao wants Barcelona move

For a while, Barcelona were thought to be out of the race to sign Estevao, particularly because of his hefty release clause.

However, as per UOL, it appears Barcelona still have their eyes on the young attacker, who is fondly known as Messinho in Brazil due to his dribbling technique and ability on the ball.

Messinho, for his part, is in no hurry to leave Palmeiras, which indicates that he is still gunning for a move to Barcelona in the near future.

However, the Catalans will face stiff competition in the race to sign the Brazilian whizkid, especially with Chelsea ready to propose an offer up to €30 million.

Barcelona have made Arsenal’s Thomas Partey one of their top targets for the summer transfer window as the Catalan club looks for cheap options to add to their squad. 

The Ghana star is out of contract at the Emirates Stadium in 2025 and according to Adrian Sanchez, Barcelona may look to take advantage of this over the summer months.

The Catalan club have made the midfielder one of their top target and will be hoping to secure a deal for the 30-year-old at a relatively low price. The La Liga outfit are still dealing with major financial issues and they are set to restrict the Spanish giants’ spending once again during the upcoming transfer window.

Arsenal are likely to be open to selling Partey this summer as the player reportedly wanted to leave the Gunners ahead of the winter transfer window amid interest from Juventus.

It remains to be seen if Barcelona make an official move for the Ghana star over the coming months but it doesn’t look like a new deal is coming the midfielder’s way at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal should sell Thomas Partey if Barcelona submit offer

Partey has been at Arsenal since 2020 and has gone on to feature in 112 matches for the Premier League club. Last season was the midfielder’s most impressive in North London as he played a pivotal role in the Gunners’ Premier League title charge.

However, the current campaign has been the opposite as the 30-year-old has spent most of it on the sidelines injured.

The former Atletico Madrid star has played just 13 games for Mikel Arteta but has started the last two clashes against Chelsea and Tottenham.

Partey is still a good player but with Jorginho set to pen a new deal at Arsenal, there is no real need for the Ghana star, especially if the North London club look to sign a new midfielder ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

Barcelona stopped the bleeding after back-to-back defeats to PSG and Real Madrid with a win over Valencia last weekend.

The Catalans are now virtually out of contention for any silverware this season, for the blow in El Clasico simply shattered any hopes of a comeback.

Xavi’s side now turn their eyes to the best-available consolation prize – the second place on the league standings, but that too is far from a given.

With Girona breathing down their back just two points behind them in La Liga, Barcelona enter tomorrow’s Catalan derby in a virtual must-win situation if they hope to end the season in second place.

Ahead of the high-voltage clash against Michel’s side, Xavi is without the services of Frenkie de Jong, Alejandro Balde and Gavi, all of whom are not expected to return this season.

Considering the quality of the opposition and the importance of finishing the season in second place, Xavi is unlikely to make major rotations in his lineup on the night. After all, the last meeting between the two teams ended in a 4-2 defeat at home for his side.

The UEFA executive committee has announced that national teams participating in Euro 2024 in Germany this June and July can bring squads of 23 to 26 players, as per BBC.

All members of the squad can be listed on the teamsheet, unlike in the previous 2021 tournament where squads could include 26 players, but three of them had to watch from the stands instead of suiting up.

This decision suggests that 26-player squads could become the standard for all future UEFA national competitions as this will benefit national teams dealing with injuries, especially since the Euros are just six weeks away.

It must be remembered that the 26-player squads were also allowed during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar due to the tournament’s scheduling in the middle of the domestic season.

Some international coaches had criticized the limitations of the 23-player squads, but at a recent Euro 2024 coaches meeting, the proposal to maintain 26-player squads received strong support.

Barcelona head coach Xavi has revealed that the plan is for Eric Garcia to return to Camp Nou this summer and battle for a first-team position during the 2023-24 campaign.

The 23-year-old joined Girona on loan from Barcelona last summer, and he has been in outstanding form for the Catalan outfit this season, making 26 appearances, scoring three times in the process.

Garcia has played a key role in Girona’s success in La Liga, with Michel‘s side currently third in the table, just two points behind second-placed Barcelona ahead of Saturday’s clash between the two sides.

There have been suggestions that the Spaniard could move to Girona permanently this summer, but Xavi has revealed that the club are planning for his return at the end of the campaign.

“He had a place at Barca. He didn’t want him to leave, it was a matter of fair play. We want him to come back,” the Barcelona boss told reporters during Friday’s press conference.

Eric Garcia is wanted back at Barcelona this summer

Garcia came through the youth system at Barcelona before joining Manchester City in 2017, and he went on to represent the Premier League side on 35 occasions ahead of a switch back to Camp Nou.

The centre-back featured 70 times for Barcelona before moving to Girona on loan, and it appears that he is firmly in Xavi’s plans at the club moving forward.

Barcelona need to beat Girona on Saturday to stay in the La Liga title race, as dropped points in the Catalan derby, coupled with a Real Madrid win over Cadiz, would see Carlo Ancelotti‘s side confirmed as champions with four games spare.

“This will be a vital match. Their confidence is through the roof, we must congratulate them, their season is magnificent at an extraordinary level,” Xavi added when asked about this weekend’s opponents.

The Barcelona boss has also said that his side will “seek revenge” on Saturday, having suffered a 4-2 defeat in the reverse match earlier this season.

“A Girona of champions. It will be an intense match, they have a lot of mobility on the pitch and are fantastic in one-against-one. It has been an exceptional season,” he added.

“There is no rivalry with Michel but we seek revenge for the first round. They were very forceful, we did not adjust well, we did not defend well in the area.

“We have been competing very well for three months. We have improved in many facets. The way we are competing lately, this is the way, there is no other.”

Barcelona will enter the clash with Girona off the back of a 4-2 win over Valencia, with the result following successive losses to Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.

After their last victory in La Liga over Valencia, Barcelona are set to return to action this weekend as they face Girona, a team against whom they will be battling for the second position in the five remaining La Liga games.

La Liga is now the only competition in which Xavi’s team is alive, but this matchday can also see Real Madrid clinch the title if the Merengues win against Cadiz, and Barcelona are unable to get a single point against Girona.

Other than Frenkie de Jong, and the long-term absences of Alejandro Balde and Gavi, the rest of the team was expected to be available for Xavi for this key game. However, this is no longer the case as SPORT reports that the Brazilian striker, Vitor Roque, is suffering from an illness and was unable to train with the team this Friday.

The striker is not totally ruled out for this upcoming game, but there are doubts about his ability to participate in this game after missing the training session. However, even without this illness, the chances of Roque starting this game were already minimal.

This is especially the case after Lewandowski’s hat-trick against Valencia, which has catapulted the Polish striker back into contention for the Pichichi.

Thus, with Roque unavailable, Xavi can decide to call up Marc Guiu from the subsidiary for this match. The Spaniard is currently focused on his duties with the reserve team, but the Brazilian’s absence can force him to get back into Xavi’s team. If Guiu is not called up, Ferran Torres will be the only option to replace Lewandowski in this game.

This illness is the latest setback for Roque, who is not having an easy time in the last few weeks. He has been unable to get too many minutes on the pitch, and has also been linked with a move away on loan, despite him not too keen to leave so soon after arriving at the club.

Barcelona are reportedly interested in signing an Arsenal star who looks destined to leave the Emirates at the end of the season.

The Gunners are currently in the midst of a title battle with Manchester City, although Mikel Arteta will likely already have one eye on the upcoming window.

One of the key areas that Arsenal are looking to upgrade this summer is their midfield. TEAMtalk sources recently revealed that Arteta’s side are growing in confidence that they can land a deal for Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes in the summer.

The club have also decided to keep Jorginho around as The Athletic recently confirmed that the Gunners have offered the veteran a new deal and that he is expected to sign it.

While Jorginho seems to be part of Arteta’s plans for the future, the same can’t be said of Thomas Partey, who is being heavily linked with an exit in the summer.

It’s been a frustrating campaign for the Ghanaian international who has missed the majority of the season through injury. He has come back into the fold of late, but his future is still deemed up in the air.

Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi has been mentioned among the names who could replace Partey in the summer, with the Spanish midfielder available for €60m (£51.7m) this summer.

It’s already been well documented that Partey has his admirers from Juventus and Saudi Arabia, although Barcelona now seem prepared to throw their hat into the ring.

“One of the names that [the Barcelona] sports management likes most is Thomas Partey,” Spanish transfer journalist Adrian Sanchez confirmed.

Given Barcelona’s tricky financial situation, it makes sense that they are looking at players like Partey, who could be available at a cut price.

Arsenal originally paid £45million for Partey back in 2020 and the club could demand as much as 25m for the injury-prone star, according to reports.

It seems unlikely that Barcelona would cough up that amount, especially given the 30-year-old will only have one year left on his existing contract.

The midfielder recently discussed his future and insisted that he is happy in north London, despite all of the exit talk that’s currently surrounding him.

According to Italian media, SSC Napoli are weighing up a potential swap deal with FC Barcelona. FC Barcelona are reportedly interested in signing one of their players, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, although it may be difficult to do so due to the club’s economic situation.

That’s where a potential swap could be in the cards. Fermín López and Ferran Torres are said to be two targets that Napoli would like to acquire, and Barcelona may be willing to part with them.

The swap would involve one of the two plus additional money in order for Barcelona to sign the Georgian winger.

Napoli will not be in the UEFA Champions League next season, and it’s understood Kvaratskhelia wants to remain in the competition.

Vitor Roque’s signing was announced with great anticipation in the January transfer window as Barcelona were getting their hands on one of Brazil’s most prized young center-forward talents.

However, with the season reaching its culmination, it is safe to say the youngster’s stint in Catalonia has not gone according to plan.

Roque has been drip-fed minutes sporadically, with the coaching staff opting to utilize more experienced forwards in key matches.

In addition to the player requiring a period of adaptation, the intense competition for starting spots has restricted Roque’s development.

As such, a loan exit for the 19-year-old is being contemplated in the upcoming summer transfer window.

Indeed, as per Mundo Deportivo Napoli, Lyon, Nice, Sevilla, Man United, and Real Betis are the teams interested in signing Vitor Roque on loan.