Little was said about Valladolid, the rival that Barça receives tomorrow at the Camp Nou (7:30 p.m.). With the season already started and five days before the market closes, Xavi is still waiting for starts to be able to grease the wings (prioritizing the right) and complete a Blaugrana machine that can aspire to win titles.
The coach also hopes that Jules Koundé will finally be able to make his debut with the first team in an official match against Valladolid once the registration process has been completed. Not an easy task given how exceeded the club’s wage bill is. “We are convinced that tomorrow he will be registered and he will be able to help us win this game,” said the coach.
Regarding the negotiations with LaLiga and the script twist that will allow the French central defender to register without the imminent departures of Memphis or Aubameyang, Xavi stressed that everything has been the result of putting together numbers. “We are not going to adulterate the competition and less in the situation we are in. It has been difficult to register players and for tomorrow we hope to have him but it is a matter of balancing numbers and fair play”, insisted Xavi.
It is not easy for Xavi to manage a team with some players on the starting ramp and without knowing if he will be able to strengthen the wings. “There are three possible scenarios in the market. Things can happen. Entries, exits and we are in full competition, a shame for the coaches,” he insisted.
One of these scenarios is to reinforce the right side. “Looking at Balde’s projection we have the left-back position well covered, on the right-back we have Dest, but he already knows the situation of the club and my position towards him. Sergi, Ronald or Jules will have to play and that is not his position natural. The intention that the club has is to reinforce the position of the right back”, he insisted. Yes, he ruled out with a smile that Bernardo Silva could stop at the Camp Nou. “You never lose hope but it’s going to be difficult…Honestly it’s difficult because there must also be ways out on our part.”
Apart from Dest, one of these expected departures is that of Martin Braithwaite, discarded in all games. “He has known since May 17 that he did not count on him and that the best option was an exit. Footballistically he knows my position, I was very clear that day,” he insisted.
Yes, Xavi revealed that Pablo Torre will finally continue at Barça with a subsidiary file. “I spoke with him the other day. We do well if he stays. It’s difficult to get minutes, but he can have them. Here he can learn more. He has to take it as a year of football training and it will be very good for him to be at Barça. He has to be an important footballer for the future. He can enter the calls and it’s good for him to stay at Barça. And if the situation arises, he can go play with the reserve team”.
Barça hopes to close the month of August with a victory against Valladolid and face a month of September that marks its return to the Champions League. They will debut on the 7th against Viktoria Pilsen. “We will try to beat any rival. We have had a very difficult group, perhaps the most difficult in the last 20 years. The objective is to get out of the group and we have had a very important challenge. Let’s go for it”, he sentenced.
