Xavi’s plans to incorporate Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix into the Barcelona setup – report

Sunday night was a special occasion for Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix as they made their debuts for FC Barcelona, in the 2-1 win against CA Osasuna away at El Sadar.

The Portuguese international pair arrived at the club on the summer transfer deadline day, both joining on loan deals from Manchester City and Atletico Madrid, having refused offers from elsewhere in favour of a move to the Catalan giants.

Given that they had just one training session with the team under their belt, it was understandable that Xavi opted not to start either of them against Osasuna and brought them on from the bench.

But things could change after the international break, with a report from SPORT’s Sergi de Juan outlining Xavi’s plans to incorporate Cancelo and Felix into his Barcelona setup.

Cancelo will be a starter right away

Cancelo came on around the hour-mark against Osasuna and made a discernable impact in the short time he was on the pitch, with a sumptuous cross to Robert Lewandowski being a major highlight.

Xavi has been asking for the 29-year-old since January and has finally got his man. And as per the report, the Barcelona manager sees the Man City loanee as a starter at right-back and believes, it is, in fact, a necessity that the Portuguese is a regular in the team.

The report further claims that Xavi feels Cancelo’s adaptation to his way and tactics should be easy as well, given that he has played under Pep Guardiola for several seasons and believes he can add great value to the team, be it drifting inwards into midfield or making forward runs on the flank.

More patience with Joao Felix

However, the report states that the Barcelona manager will exercise more patience with Joao Felix as he believes that the attacker’s adaptation will require more time.

After all, Felix played in a completely different system and tactics at Atletico Madrid under Diego Simeone and is someone who thrives as a playmaker, a position that does not necessarily exist in Xavi’s current setup at Barcelona.

In his press conference last week, Xavi outlined where he sees Felix playing in his team, but there will be an adaptation process needed as the Portuguese will need to get used to the manager’s positional play and the demands that he places in his attackers.