La Liga giants Barcelona, which experienced turmoil at the beginning of the season, have bottomed out after Xavi took office, and have now chased the second place in the league with one less game. The record picked up thanks to Xavi's tuning and also benefited from Barca's targeted reinforcements in January this year. So in this summer window, the Red and Blues will already strengthen the squad, especially the problem of finding a successor for the veterans.
According to the Spanish newspaper Ass, the two major full-backs in Barca's backline: Alves and Alba, the former will turn 39 in May this year, and the latter is also 33 years old, which is the best of the five leagues combined to 72 years old. Regarding Alba, Barca has listed many options: Valencia captain Ghaja, Benfica's Grimaldo, Ajax's Tagliafico and Leipzig's Angelino, and even two former Real Madrid full-backs, Reguilon and Danilo. Now, under the joint discussion of coach Xavi and the coaching staff, the target is unanimously on Celta left-back Xavi Garland. The 27-year-old Garland is the absolute workhorse of the team, with excellent physical fitness, and using speed and strength to create strategic depth is his specialty. The Spanish wing-back has contributed three assists in 29 La Liga games this season.
In fact, Benfica's Grimaldo was the first choice for reinforcements from previous left-backs. The Spanish defender from Ramasia has a strong performance of 6 goals and 8 assists in 44 games this season. Barca believes that Grimaldo is familiar with the Barca system and can achieve seamless docking. However, Benfica's price tag of 10 million euros for him, which has only one year left on the contract, deterred Barca. In contrast, the aforementioned Garland transfer fee is only 8 million euros, and his contract with Celta will not expire until 2026.
On the right wing, Barca are keeping an eye on A Coruña's Campo. The 18-year-old is 182cm tall and can play the centre-back and right-back positions. His contract expires in 2024 for 5 million euros, and Barca hope to be able to tap the potential at a low price. Chelsea captain Azpilicueta is the ultimate goal for Barca, and the Spain international's contract expires this summer, and visa waiver is a very affordable option.
