Barcelona president Joan Laporta has confirmed the Blaugrana will attempt to sign a midfielder on loan in the January transfer window after losing Gavi to injury for the remainder of the season.
Gavi tore the anterior cruciate ligament and damaged the lateral meniscus in his right knee while representing Spain last month, having twisted awkwardly during La Roja’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Georgia.
The 19-year-old is not expected to feature for Barcelona again this season and is also likely to sit out Spain’s Euro 2024 campaign, which begins against Croatia on June 15.
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Barcelona have also been without fellow midfielders Pedri and Frenkie de Jong for long spells this season, and they are already seven points adrift of rivals Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga.
As the Blaugrana try to breathe fresh life into their title defence, Laporta says they will look to add temporary cover in midfield next month.
“If we manage to navigate financial fair play, the idea is to have a midfielder who in some way compensates for Gavi’s loss,” Laporta told the EFE news agency.
“It would be a loan until the end of the season, as we did many years ago with Edgar Davids, for example.
“We have the margin, I think that until the end of the year we can meet fair play due to a series of operations that we have under way. If they are confirmed, we will have options.”
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— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 17, 2023
Last week, it was reported that Laporta had personally intervened to prevent head coach Xavi from resting key players for a UEFA Champions League fixture against Royal Antwerp, who beat the Catalan giants 3-2.
Barca followed that defeat with a 1-1 draw at Valencia on Saturday, leaving them winless in three games across all competitions, yet Laporta insists a change in the dugout is not on the agenda.
“The confidence we have in Xavi is total,” Laporta said.
“Apart from his knowledge, he is a great coach, but he also has the virtue that he is a resistant person, who protects his players. That says a lot.
“He has also had to overcome a lot of adversity this season due to injuries and he is still overcoming it. In his post-match analysis, he is magnificent, I tell him this whenever I hear one of his press conferences.
“Xavi is doing very well. The team has gone from strength to strength, in general. Last year we won LaLiga and the Supercopa and this year we aspire to win more titles, I think we can repeat last year and achieve something more.”
