SETTABLOID

A headline member of the attacking ranks at La Liga giants Barcelona reiterated his commitment to the cause with a view to the final months of the season on Tuesday.

Front man Ferran, of course, is fresh off marking his return to the pitch this past weekend.

After spending a full two months on the sidelines owing to a hamstring injury, the Spanish international was introduced off the bench, en route to Barcelona’s hard-fought victory over Las Palmas.

Despite his recent spell out of action, Ferran remains the Blaugrana’s 2nd top scorer across the season to date, trailing only Robert Lewandowski when it comes to finding the net.

And, amid strong competition for places in the final third in Xavi’s squad, the former Manchester City man, evidently, is eager to get back firing on all cylinders as quickly as possible.

In turn, as revealed by David Ibáñez of El Desmarque, Ferran was spotted in attendance at Barcelona’s training ground on Tuesday.

Why is this of note? Xavi’s squad had actually been granted a day of rest.

Also present at the Ciudad Deportiva, meanwhile, were all of Gavi, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and Andreas Christensen, amid their respective injury recovery plans.

Following a narrow win over Las Palmas, Barcelona have ample time to prepare for their Champions League quarterfinal encounter against Paris Saint-Germain on April 10.

PSG, though, appear to have already kickstarted their scouting mission and may even raid Barça this summer.

According to Catalunya Radio, PSG have set their sights on Jules Kounde and Hector Fort ahead of the UCL tie against Barcelona.

The French champions, quite evidently, are looking for reinforcements in the defensive unit, especially after a series of injuries to key players throughout the season.

To that end, PSG have identified Kounde and Fort as potential candidates, as Luis Enrique looks to beef up his options at the back.

Kounde, who has largely been utilised as a right-back at Barcelona, is regarded as one of France’s best defensive talents. His versatility could come in handy for PSG next season.

Fort, meanwhile, is one of multiple La Masia products making a breakthrough this season. A right-back by trade, the youngster possesses immense potential and could be one for the future.

The report adds that PSG and Barcelona have held talks in recent weeks regarding Kounde and Fort.

Barcelona, though, made it clear that they do not want to consider any offers for Fort, who is seen as a future prospect in the right-back unit.

As for Kounde, however, it appears Barça are ready to hold talks with the French champions, knowing the Frenchman may yield significant revenue.

Kounde, due to his age and potential, does indeed have a high valuation. Moreover, the Catalans might not require his services going forward, should Fort make a bigger breakthrough next season.

Keeping that in mind, it seems Barcelona are not completely ruling out the sale of Kounde, who will certainly be one of the players in focus as the two teams lock horns on April 10.

The hopes of Barcelona’s supporters of one day seeing Manchester City front man Erling Haaland take to the pitch in the famed colors of their club have today been afforded a boost.

Haaland, for his part, represents a long-term ‘dream’ signing for Barcelona president Joan Laporta, who views the 23-year-old as a needed ‘superstar’ addition to the club’s ranks.

In turn, plans are already understood to have been put in place, to launch an all-out assault for Haaland’s signature in the summer of 2025.

And one individual who appears to be of the opinion that Barca should be quietly confident in their pursuit of the prolific striker, comes in the form of Bojan Krkic.

Speaking in an interview with Cadena SER’s “Què T’hi Jugues” (as cited by Diario Sport) on Tuesday, Bojan, father of the ex-Blaugrana starlet of the same name, who also spent time working in the scouting department in Catalunya, assured that Haaland himself is keen on linking up with the club:

“Erling Haaland prioritizes Barça. If he has to choose between Barça and Madrid, he would go to Barça.”

Not only that, but Bojan went on to add that the transfer, based on his latest information, could ‘very easily’ come to fruition with a view to the 2025/26 campaign.

As we head towards the business end of the 2023/24 season, it’s imperative that each player in the Barcelona squad digs in and wrings every last drop of effort out of their performances.

The likelihood of the Blaugranes winning either La Liga or the Champions League is slim at present and most would say it’s just a pipe dream – but it’s not impossible that one or the other could be landed.

The odds are certainly better than when Barca faced a four-goal first-leg deficit against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League seven years ago (is it really that long?!).

The players that are going to step up and raise their heads above the parapet. Players that will turn doubters into believers.

The tide is slowly turning already in that regard too given how well the team have played since Xavi effectively publicly handed in his resignation.

One player that culers could take or leave at this stage is Joao Felix, though as the Portuguese showed against Las Palmas, he has that certain something that can help win games.

According to Diario Sport journalist Toni Juanmartí, Ajax have added Barcelona boss Xavi Hernández to their list of candidates to take over as manager next season. The 44-year-old will leave Spanish giants at the end of the season, making him available for a new role.

Last week, Ajax boss John Van ‘t Schip confirmed that he won’t continue as head coach next season, but he may take on another role at the Johan Cruyff Arena. The Amsterdam club have identified several candidates as possible successors to Van ‘t Schip, and Xavi has emerged as the latest. The Spaniard replaced Ronald Koeman as Barcelona boss in November 2021, and his since guided the Catalan club to one La Liga title and a Spanish super cup. Three defeats and seven draws this season have left Barca eight points behind Real Madrid in top spot. Xavi has come under pressure plenty of times this season, which resulted in the announcement of his resignation in January.

Ajax will be looking to reset next season after an enduring nightmare campaign plagued with dozens of different problems. They’re currently 5th in the Eredivisie table and on course for their worst league finish since the 99/00 season. The Dutch giants are out of the Europa Conference League following defeat to Aston Villa and are a laughing stock up and down the Netherlands at the present.

This could be a project perfect for someone like Xavi, who aims to play attractive possession-based football. The Barca icons record with nurturing young talent could come in handy at Ajax, who are known to have one of the best academy’s in world football. However, Xavi is said to be one of many candidates on Ajax’s shortlist and there will be other clubs keen to make a move for the head coach.

Barcelona’s recent 1-0 win over Las Palmas involved a performance deserving of a more flattering scoreline. Xavi’s men were on top for the better part of the game, but a fascinating tactical battle kept the result in doubt until the final whistle.

The visitors went down to ten men midway through the first half and were forced to play with a disadvantage for the rest of the game. Yet, they did not make it simple for the Catalans as only a solitary Raphinha strike helped them take home three points.

After a comprehensive analysis of Barcelona on the night, the strengths, weaknesses, and standout players involved, Barça Universal brings you a deeper analysis of the team’s performance and the tactical battle that unfolded on the night.

Xavi’s lineup on the night spoke a lot about his intentions to maintain the team’s momentum and push for three points as he opted to deploy his strongest available XI.

Marc Andre Ter Stegen started in goal with Inigo Martinez and Pau Cubarsi lining up defensively in Ronald Araujo’s absence. Jules Kounde and Joao Cancelo stuck to their roles at full-back.

With Andreas Christensen unavailable, Ilkay Gundogan was paired with Sergi Roberto and Fermin Lopez in midfield while Lamine Yamal and Raphinha flanked Robert Lewandowski in attack.

The match stuck to the expected script right from the get-go as both teams looked to build from the back. The common approach caused both sides to press high and individually.

Until Las Palmas’ Alvaro Valles was sent off in the 25th minute, Barcelona had already recovered seven balls in the opponent’s half. Moreover, the move that caused Valles’ expulsion also stemmed from a recovery at the edge of midfield.

With Kylian Mbappe set to join Real Madrid on a free transfer this summer, all focus will shift to the future of yet another footballing superstar in Erling Haaland.

The Norwegian frontman is currently plying his trade for Manchester City and is likely to continue at Etihad, at least for another year.

However, Haaland could reportedly leave Man City in the summer of 2025, which may coincide with the departure of Pep Guardiola.

Real Madrid have emerged as one of the potential destinations for Haaland, but it appears Barcelona are unwilling to back down and are ready to do everything it can to sign the former Borussia Dortmund starlet.

In a recent media interaction (h/t Diario SPORT), Bojan reiterated Barcelona’s interest in Haaland, suggesting that Norwegian would prefer a move to Catalonia over Madrid.

Haaland gives priority to Barca. If he had to choose between Barcelona and Madrid, he would go to Barcelona,” said Bojan, who acts as the coordinator of Barcelona, tasked with the responsibility of monitoring the progress of loaned players.

When asked about Barcelona’s chances of signing Haaland in the future, Bojan sounded rather optimistic, acknowledging the club’s economic and marketing potential.

“Barcelona are recovering little by little. The club will return to Camp Nou and this will change a lot, in terms of marketing and promotion, then there will be investors who will come, and there will be the sale of players,” he said.

Barcelona are indeed expecting a growth in revenue after they return to Camp Nou, which may sometime at the end of December 2024.

Although the Blaugrana may not return to full capacity immediately, even a half-filled Camp Nou could go a long way in boosting the club’s revenue, thereby helping them target top players such as Haaland in the future.

Xavi’s future at Barcelona continues to be talked about despite the Barcelona coach insisting he has not changed his mind about leaving in the summer.

Rafa Yuste, Deco and Joan Laporta have all said they want Xavi to change his mind and continue for at least another season.

Mundo Deportivo reckon that there is a chance that Xavi could stay on at Barcelona provided two things happen.

The first is that Barca need to finish the season well. How well you say? Well, they must win either La Liga or the Champions League or “at least compete until the end.”

Xavi’s second condition is related to signings. The Barcelona coach does not want another difficult transfer window and is keen to add to his squad.

The coach is said to want a player like Martin Zubimendi or Joshua Kimmich or Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva.

Xavi has previously spoken of his admiration for Kimmich, and there is speculation he could leave in the summer if he doesn’t renew at Bayern Munich.

Meannwhile, Bernardo has long been linked with a move to Barcelona, with even Pep Guardiola admitting the midfielder would love to play for the Catalans.

Yet it still seems unlikely Barcelona will be able to spend big this summer unless Laporta and Co. can either secure some investment or decide to offload key players.

Although they also want to bring in some much-needed reinforcements for some weak areas of the team like the midfield pivot, for the next summer transfer window, FC Barcelona will be working primarily with one main objective in mind, i.e., lightening its wage bill to ensure that all of its players are registered.

FC Barcelona have been able to turn their form around in the last few weeks, and have got some very favourable results that puts them well in the race for both La Liga and the Champions League.

However, this turn in form does not change the fact, as yet, that Xavi Hernandez has already announced his decision to leave the club at the end of the season. Still, with the upturn in team’s form, there have been news coming from the club that the Catalans want Xavi to continue working with them.

However, according to Mundo Deportivo, Xavi has not reconsidered his decision to remain at the club, and will do so only if there are some monumental changes in the situation at Barcelona.

One of the conditions in which Xavi can consider continuing at the Catalan club is if his team is able to win both or either La Liga and Champions League, or even if they compete well till the very end in these competitions. In such a situation, Xavi can consider stay, and his family would prefer it too.

However, there are some other conditions that the Barcelona head-coach also wants fulfilled, mainly related to the club’s ability to strengthen itself in the coming summer.