Xavi thinks of Barcelona’s latest recruit as a ‘four in one’ player – report

One of the biggest priorities for Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez heading into the summer was to sign a new interior midfielder who can provide the team with more creativity and goals from the centre, especially in the absence of Pedri.

And Barcelona went hard for the signing of Ilkay Gundogan, eventually succeeding in securing his services on a free transfer, with the official confirmation arriving on Monday morning.

The 32-year-old German international had interest from Arsenal and Saudi Arabia, while Manchester City were also trying hard to renew him. But, in the end, it was the Catalans who came out on top and landed their target.

Now, as per Mundo Deportivo, Xavi is very pleased with Barcelona’s signing of Gundogan as he sees the German ace as a ‘four in one’ player.

The Barcelona manager believes that the midfielder’s arrival provides him with greater quality, experience, leadership, and tactical flexibility on the pitch.

Gundogan is a player who is versatile in nature and can play as an interior midfielder on the right or left. In time of need, the 32-year-old is also capable of filling in as a pivot midfielder while the veteran star could also be used as a ‘false-winger’, making him a ‘four in one’ player in Xavi’s eyes.

The manager already has some plans as to how he wants to use Gundogan, with the idea being to field him higher up the pitch so that he can operate close to ace goalscorer Robert Lewandowski.

Gundogan was involved in 18 goals directly last season for Manchester City, scoring 11 and setting up seven more. Such contributions would be worth their weight in gold for Barcelona, who were heavily reliant on Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Ousmane Dembele for goals.