20-year-old Barcelona midfielder has options to leave, superagent pressuring club

Nico Gonzalez has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign at Barcelona in 2021/22 but could be staring at an uncertain future at the club this summer, reports SPORT.

The La Masia graduate was handed his first-team debut by Ronald Koeman this season and he has since gone on to make 37 appearances in total, scoring and assisting two goals apiece in all competitions.

However, most of his appearances have come from the bench, with Xavi Hernandez preferring the midfield trio of Pedri, Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong. When one of the starting trio is unavailable, the manager has opted to use Gavi ahead of Nico.

It has led to the 20-year-old suffering from a lack of game-time in the latter half of the season, before his campaign was cut short by a toe fracture.

With Barcelona prepping themselves for a huge summer, there are expected to be plenty of incomings and outgoings. And Nico could be a part of the transfer activity, as his agent, Jorge Mendes, is pushing the club to offer clarity on his role for the upcoming campaign.

As things stand, Barça have de Jong, Pedri, Busquets and Gavi as their preferred options in midfield with Nico and Riqui Puig as backups. The Catalans have also secured the services of Franck Kessie, who will arrive on a free transfer.

At the same time, the Blaugrana are also on the lookout for another midfield signing to replace Busquets in the long run, with another Jorge Mendes client, Ruben Neves, on the radars.

So, even though Puig is expected to depart at the end of the season, Nico’s role in the squad remains uncertain. As a result, the Portuguese superagent is seeking clarity from the club as he is fielding several offers for the young midfielder heading into the summer.

Indeed, the report states that Nico has offers to leave Camp Nou on loan or even on a permanent transfer in the upcoming window, where he could get more minutes and be a prominent figure – something that is not guaranteed at Barcelona as things stand.

However, the Blaugrana see the La Masia product as an asset, which is why they had fought hard to extend his contract until the summer of 2024 last year. And given his first-team status now, the club are considering another renewal for the midfielder.

But with a major restructuring on the cards in the summer and there being offers on the table, nothing is ruled out at this point as Barça will assess all options before making a decision.