Barcelona coaching staff likely to continue testing €90 million-rated star in pivot midfield role

Barcelona have been hit hard with injuries over the past month or so, forcing manager Xavi Hernandez to cope with a thinly-stretched squad.

The midfield department has been hit hard the most with two key players in Pedri and Frenkie de Jong being unavailable, with the latter’s absence even affecting Oriol Romeu’s form to an extent.

As such, Xavi was forced to deploy a midfield partnership of Ilkay Gundogan and Gavi to shield the defence against Real Madrid at the expense of Romeu as the lone pivot.

Gavi, who has excelled as an interior, or even while playing as a false winger, was deployed in an unfamiliar role, but excelled and was the standout performer in the Clasico on Saturday.

Barcelona staff likely to continue with Gavi as pivot

Now, journalist Jordi Cardero is reporting that Barcelona coaching staff have been impressed with how Gavi has performed in the deeper midfield role.

And as such, they are open to investing in the idea of continuing him as a pivot at least in the short run until they are able to find a solution to the problem.

As iterated earlier, the 19-year-old midfield sensation, whose market value stands at €90 million, was one of the best players on show in El Clasico even though the result did not go Barça’s way.

Gavi had completely managed to shut down Jude Bellingham in the first half and was all over Real Madrid’s midfielders with his aggression, passion, work rate, and energy.

The La Masia graduate’s performance has been extraordinary and the coaching staff plans to continue investing in him in that position.

New signing likely

While there might be a case for deploying Gavi in a deeper role, the idea for Barcelona is to reinforce the pivot position at the earliest possible.

Even though the club are facing financial difficulties, a move for a new defensive midfielder is being weighed up for the January transfer window, but much will depend on the club’s Financial Fair Play situation.

Player valuation in title obtained from transfermarkt.com on date of publication.