Barcelona in talks with two midfielders over January move, awaiting Xavi’s go-ahead

Barcelona’s dismissal of Ronald Koeman was always going to disrupt some of the club’s plans for the immediate future.

The Dutchman was relieved of his duties last week after the disappointing 1-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano away from home, with the club acting quickly to identify club legend Xavi as his replacement. However, the 41-year-old is yet to be signed, meaning it has left transfer operations at the club for the January window at a standstill, reports SPORT.

According to the report, Barca were already in talks with two central midfielders over a potential transfer in the January transfer window.

While it does not give away the names of the two stars, the report mentions that the first midfielder plays in France and is entering the final six months of his contract. The second one, meanwhile, is a top player who has not received regular game-time at his club and is angling for an exit.

It is also claimed that the Blaugrana were in very advanced talks to secure the services of one the two midfielders. However, they were forced to hit pause on negotiations following the sacking of Koeman and are now waiting for Xavi to take over and give his verdict before rekindling their pursuit of the said star.

While it would be speculation at this point, the second player in question could be Manchester United’s Donny van de Beek. The Dutchman has been on the radars of Barcelona for a while now and has struggled for minutes at Old Trafford. In fact, reports earlier this week indicated that the Catalans were inching closer to securing his signing.

As for the identity of the first player who plays in France and is in the final year of his contract, Olympique Marseille’s Boubacar Kamara would be a strong possibility. Former Barca academy ace Xavi Simons, who left the club for PSG, is also out of contract next year and has been linked with a return to Catalonia as well.

It will be interesting to find out who these players are and whether Barcelona are successful in their endeavours to sign them. For now, though, the Catalan giants will be hoping to get Xavi’s appointment over the line at the earliest.