The first team of FC Barcelona starts the 2023-24 pre-season today with the mandatory medical tests after the summer and the first training that will be held in the afternoon in the sports city. For this first contact Xavi will have 27 footballers. Eleven from the first team, five returning from loan and 12 more players from the subsidiary. They are the first but not the last. The 10 internationals who played friendlies or official matches with their national teams and who will join between tomorrow and Saturday 15 July will be added. Ilkay Gündogan is in this second group. The star signing of the season heads a list completed by Robert Lewandowski, Frenkie de Jong, Ter Stegen, Dembélé, Koundé, Christensen, Kessié, Gavi and Ansu Fati. These last two will be the last to arrive after winning the Nations League.
For now Xavi will work today with a first group. It will feature Marcos Alonso, Araújo, Pedri, Balde, Raphinha, Ferran Torres, Eric Garcia, Sergi Roberto, Iñaki Peña and Pablo Torre. Iñigo Martínez, the second reinforcement of the season, will also make his debut. In addition, five more footballers who were loaned out last year are returning: Lenglet, Dest, Collado, Abde and Nico. Currently only the last two have options to stay. “Abde has matured a lot. He has made a difference in many games with Osasuna”, said Xavi of the Moroccan winger. Unless the coach tells him that he cannot guarantee minutes, Abde will stay. As for Nico González, who signed a good season in Valencia, Xavi does not want to lose sight of him, but he also does not see him as Busquets’ replacement. He will have a preseason to show he can be a good reliever. He won’t be the only one. In that position will also be Marc Casadó and Pau Prim, who together with Lamine Yamal lead the group of eight in the squad that will start the pre-season. “On Monday all the players will start from scratch. They must be prepared”, warned Xavi Hernández at the presentation of his campus. After a summer in which the only exit that has been sealed is that of Umtiti who has agreed to terminate his contract, the manager wants to reassess his squad before setting up the squad players who will tour the United States on July 19. If they don’t convince him now he will have that awkward conversation with the designated players to inform them that they should look for a way out-
Beyond Lenglet, Dest and Collado from the group of loanees who return and with whom Xavi continues to be without, the names of Kessié, Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati also appeared in his exit plan before the end of the season. He is also open to hearing offers for Eric Garcia.
In the case of Kessié, Xavi acknowledged having had a conversation with him in which he informed him that he does not guarantee him minutes in the face of the fierce competition he will have in a core team that includes Pedri, Gavi, De Jong and Gündogan. The footballer is only willing to move if an interesting sporting project comes his way, with the Premier League as the most attractive destination or a great economic offer from Saudi Arabia.
He has not yet spoken to Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres, although both sense his will. For his part, Ferran Torres wants to continue with Blaugrana. The one from Foios, who arrived in December 2021, is looking to complete a pre-season as a Barcelona player for the first time since a foot injury prevented him from doing so last year. As for Ansu Fati, the 10th for Barça since Messi left and the second top scorer in the squad with 10 goals being the striker who has played the fewest minutes, he has followed De Jong’s example from last season. He has told his agent, Jorge Mendes, his family and the club that he does not want to leave. After winning the Nations League with the Spanish national team, Fati wants to earn his place. Everyone will have their chance.
