Barcelona could make an offer for Xavi’s preferred right-back target, but move difficult

Gerard Romero has said that Barcelona manager Xavi is a big fan of Villarreal right-back Juan Foyth and the Blaugrana may approach the La Liga side with an offer in the coming weeks, although they know the figures are unlikely to match the demand of the Yellow Submarine.

Recently, it was reported that Xavi had asked the Barcelona management to make extra efforts in signing the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner. But despite Barça’s continued interest, Villarreal are refusing to budge.

At the moment, they are holding on to the player’s release clause which is said to be worth €54 million. Come summer, however, things might change for the good for Barcelona as it is said that the Yellow Submarine might be forced to sell their players if they finish outside of the UEFA Champions League spots.

Now, it is a known fact that Xavi’s priority is to sign Foyth, but Romero mentions that if Barcelona fail to do so, the manager will be happy with what he has at the moment.

Barcelona have relied on the likes of Jules Kounde, Sergi Roberto, and Ronald Araujo at right-back this season. Heading into the summer, there have been contradicting reports emerging on their stance over signing a new player for the position.

Some outlets suggest that Barça wish to bring in a new right-back as a priority, while there are suggestions that they will continue to count on Kounde and Roberto next season.

Several players have been linked with the club as possible targets. This includes Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta, Manchester City loanee Joao Cancelo, Benjamin Pavard of Bayern Munich, and even Thomas Meunier of Borussia Dortmund. 

The newest entrant in the list is Bayern Munich right-back Noussair Mazraoui. As reported earlier, the Moroccan is willing to find a new team in order to play regular first-team football and for that, he would be delighted to join Barcelona in the summer.

For now, though, Barcelona will continue to pursue Foyth as he remains Xavi’s personal preference for this position.