SETTABLOID

Barcelona star İlkay Gündoğan provided an insight into a whole host of interesting topics surrounding his time with the club this weekend.

After Xavi Hernandez announced his intention to leave Barcelona at the end of the season, Sergi Roberto’s future at the club began to look perilous. The versatile 32-year-old was counted on by Xavi, but it seemed that he wouldn’t be by the Catalan giants, whose previous intention was to let him leave for free in the summer.

In three days, FC Barcelona will lock horns with Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.

Barcelona go into the game fresher of the two teams having not played since last week. PSG, on the other hand, have had two games this week, the latest of which came this past Saturday.

Taking on bottom-side Clermont at home, PSG were held to a tame 1-1 draw at home with only a late goal from Goncalo Ramos salvaging a point for Luis Enrique’s men.

The manager did make a host of changes to rest some of his key players keeping the Barcelona game in mind, but the result was far from ideal, with there even being a fresh injury concern.

Barcelona and their fans would have been keeping a close eye on things at Parc des Princes last night and will likely feel more confident of their chances after seeing PSG’s performance.

However, another thing that will have caught everyone’s attention in the Barça camp is the fact that some PSG fans were hurling abuse at the Blaugrana.

A recent report has emerged indicating Paris Saint-Germain’s interest in Jules Koundé. The latest update on this speculation highlights the Frenchman’s suitability for the center-back position, aligning with the club’s current preference for French talent.

PSG have a strategic approach to luring talent away from FC Barcelona, having successfully acquired players like Neymar Jr., Xavi Simons, and Ousmane Dembélé. This approach has proven successful, and Koundé could be the latest to jump from the Catalan side to the French giants, further strengthening the team.

CBS Sports reporter Jonathan Johnson spoke with PSG Talk and noted whether he sees this potential transfer as the right move for the Parisians.

“I think there’s probably scope to do quite a good deal at the moment, given Barcelona’s perilous financial situation, where I think they would have to listen to sensible offers as opposed to just charging ridiculous prices for somebody like Koundé,” Johnson said. 

“And I think his profile is interesting as well. Like you said, predominantly a central defender, but [he] has played right back at times when asked, not just for Barcelona but also for the French national team as well.”

The Ligue 1 giants will have money to spend and a need to bolster the center-back position this summer. One determining factor in whether they push for the 25-year-old is how he performs against them in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal tie. If PSG seems convinced of his performance, they could accelerate their pursuit.

Could a LaLiga rival make a move for Real Madrid attacking midfield phenom Arda Güler? And how did João Cancelo show his love for Barcelona before even joining the European giants?

Sevilla have been up-and-down over the years, but even when they struggled in the 2022/23 season within LaLiga, the Nervionenses still ended up winning the Europa League against the odds.

This season, Sevilla sit 14th in the table, as they continue to struggle to find true attacking difference-makers. The Dodi Lukebakio transfer from the Bundesliga hasn’t been quite enough.

Therefore, El Mira is reporting that Sevilla have an interesting target in mind, as they would like to make a play for Real Madrid attacking midfielder Arda Güler.

The young Turkish international somewhat surprisingly joined Los Blancos this past summer, as Real Madrid were already bringing in 100 million euro man Jude Bellingham as their next 10 and recalled Brahim Díaz from his loan – which included a Champions League semifinal appearance – with AC Milan.

Güler is already flashing world-class potential despite some injury woes. Sevilla love their playmakers, especially the technical ones with additional goal threat. A loan move to be a 30-game starter (if healthy) could be a fantastic transfer for the 19-year-old phenom.

A headline member of the attacking ranks at La Liga giants Barcelona is pushing hard for what would come as an unexpected start in the club’s upcoming showdown with Paris Saint-Germain.

That’s according to Diario Sport, who have on Saturday provided an insight into the latest developments behind the scenes in Catalunya’s capital.

Barcelona, of course, are currently in the process of ramping up preparations for what many would argue is their biggest fixture of the season to date.

Next Wednesday night, the Blaugrana will make the trip to France, for the first leg of the club’s Champions League quarter-final showdown with the aforementioned PSG.

With no La Liga outing pencilled in for the weekend, full focus in Catalunya is already on the capital clash, one which could shape the remainder of Barca’s season.

And one member of Xavi’s squad who appears particularly eager to make his mark in four days’ time comes in the form of João Félix.

Frontman Félix, for his part, is expected to take his place on the bench at the Parc des Princes, with the trio of Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, and Robert Lewandowski favoured in attack.

But the Barca loanee is doing all that he can to change the mind of the club’s coaching staff at the last minute.

As per Sport, ‘the Portuguese has exercised with special motivation this Saturday’.

Not only that, but Félix is said to have thoroughly impressed those watching on from the sidelines.

Whilst the 24-year-old is still an outsider to take his place in Barcelona’s starting XI to face PSG, his motivation – an aspect of Félix’s game often called into question in the past – is deserving of commendation.

Barcelona have been handed some positive news on the injury front with Frenkie de Jong nearing a comeback from an ankle injury.

The Dutchman came through a practice match on Saturday unscathed, and it’s being reported he will be in the squad for the Champions League clash with PSG.

De Jong has been out for just over a month but may well make his return in the first leg of the quarter-final tie.

Andreas Christensen also took part in Saturday’s session and could return after being forced onto the sidelines in recent weeks with an Achilles injury.

However, it’s still not clear when Pedri will come back. Barcelona are said to be unwilling to take any risks at all, meaning it’s possible he will not make the trip to France.

Barcelona do still have two more training sessions before Xavi names his squad and the team get on the plane for the clash with Luis Enrique’s side.

A fresh insight into the plans of the powers that be at La Liga giants Barcelona for the club’s defensive personnel options for next season has today come to the fore online.

The info comes courtesy of Diario Sport, and points towards positive news for one member of Barca’s backline as being set to come as a blow for another.

his comes amid confirmation that, despite widespread claims to the contrary over the course of recent days, Mikayil Faye will be going nowhere this summer.

The 19-year-old breakthrough talent has been linked with a whole host of clubs from across the continent over the course of recent days, amid suggestions that, if presented with the right kind of offer, the Camp Nou brass would be more than willing to cash in on Faye ahead of next season.

Sport, however, point towards a definitive decision as having now been made:

‘Barça has already made a decision for the future with the African player: Faye will be neither sold nor loaned and the intention is for him to be part of the next project with a first team number’.

With Faye in line to take his place in the senior setup in Catalunya’s capital next season, the door, in turn, looks set to be firmly closed in the face of another stopper on the Blaugrana’s books.

The player in question? Eric García.

Spanish international García, for his part, has spent the season to date on loan at high-flying Girona.

And though the former Manchester City man has enjoyed a fine stint with the Blanquivermells, he recently reiterated that his only intention, come the summer, is to link back up with his parent club.

But as much, it would appear, has already been ruled out by the Barcelona brass.

This comes with it assured that Faye’s emergence means that ‘both García and Clément Lenglet will have to leave no matter what after returning from their loans’.

Barcelona forward Ansu Fati was given a golden opportunity to revive his withering career on loan at Brighton & Hove Albion, but the spell has not gone according to plans for the youngster.

Instead of convincing the Barcelona higher-ups that he deserved a place in the squad, Fati has undergone difficulties in acquiring regular game-time under Roberto De Zerbi, with a calf injury toward the end of last year once again robbing him of regularity.

In fact, the Spanish winger was left out of Brighton’s squad against Brentford recently, even receiving some harsh sentiments from De Zerbi, who argued he needs to improve his physical and mental level.

As such, the chances of Fati returning to Barcelona, especially during a financial crisis, have lessened considerably.

This has given rise to many clubs keeping an eye out on his situation, with the possibility of a loan or permanent signing taking place.

Now, as per Adrian Sanchez, Valencia have taken a keen interest in Ansu Fati’s situation at Barcelona.

It could either be a temporary loan spell or a permanent transfer; Barça are keeping both options open for the time being since there is still some time before the season concludes.

However, Fati’s entourage might have a preference for Sevilla, who have also shown interest in the La Masia graduate.

Envisioning an ideal summer transfer window for Barcelona would certainly include fortifications in the squad’s weakest areas, including the defensive midfield and left-wing positions.

But to carry out new signings, Barcelona will have to oversee exit operations so they can return to the 1:1 rule in La Liga.

And Ansu Fati enters the list of disposables for the Catalan giants. It has been reported that Barça and Fati’s representative, Jorge Mendes, are already searching for teams ready to back him consistently.

The upcoming clash between FC Barcelona and Paris Saint Germain in the UEFA Champions League is a crucial match for both these sides, as the Parisians are aspiring to win the tournament this season, while the Catalans are also committed to fighting till the very end.

Ideally, Xavi would have wanted to have his entire squad available for this game, but as things stand, there are some key players that will miss this match because of injury problems. However, things seem to be moving in the right direction, as it was previously reported that Frenkie de Jong has recovered from his injury and is now training with the group.

The latest update in regards to the Dutchman’s injury has been provided by SPORT, which reports that the Dutchman was able to play the full friendly training match organized by Xavi as the team did not have any La Liga commitments this weekend.

This match was organized mainly to assess the sensations of some players who had been struggling with fitness ahead of the match against PSG. Frenkie de Jong completed the match with good sensations, and his participation in the match against the French side seems even more likely.

As opposed to Frenkie, Andreas Christensen and Pedri were able to play only for a part of this match. These two players have been suffering from muscle injuries, and Barcelona want to be extremely cautious with them. Thus, they played only a part of the training match, the duration of which was one hour.

Although they were not able to play the full 60 minutes, the involvement of Pedri and Christensen in this match still goes on to show that these two players’ recoveries are going in the right direction. Still, Barcelona fans will be hoping they can get back to full fitness by Wednesday, as Xavi will need all the weapons in his arsenal to beat Luis Enrique’s PSG side.