Barcelona will not sign a midfielder to replace Gavi, will rely more on 20-year-old homegrown talent

Ever since it was confirmed that Gavi had ruptured his ACL last night, reports of Barcelona planning to sign a new midfielder to cope with his absence have been doing the rounds.

After all, Gavi will not play again for the rest of the season and his absence will be a huge blow for Xavi Hernandez & co.

It was even suggested that the Blaugrana could priortise the signing of a new interior midfielder over the incorporation of Vitor Roque during the January transfer window.

No plans for midfield signing

But, contrary to what has been reported, MARCA’s Luis F Rojo is claiming that Barcelona do not have any plans to go after a new midfielder during the winter window.

It is true that La Liga allows the signing of a player with 80% of Gavi’s salary without it counting for this season.

However, it would count for next season and that creates a problem because there are other priorities before another midfielder such as the arrival of Vitor Roque, the signing of a pivot, or the continuity of Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo.

At the moment, there is no money to sign players and within the club, they consider that if they have to bring in a new face, Vitor Roque is the priority.

In Fermin, we trust

On top of that, the report adds that Barcelona believe that they have enough strength in the squad to deal with Gavi’s absence.

For starters, the Catalans’ coaching staff is delighted with the explosion of Fermin Lopez and will rely on him more and more to cover for Gavi’s absence in the remainder of the season.

After all, the La Masia youngster has made a spectacular leap in the first months of this season and there is great confidence in him to continue progressing.

Beyond that, Frenkie de Jong is set to return from injury and as such Barça will have him, Pedri, and Ilkay Gundogan as starters for three positions in midfield, with Fermin and Oriol Romeu as backups.

Furthermore, Sergi Roberto remains an option in midfield while both Joao Cancelo and Andreas Christensen can slot into the middle of the park if there is a necessity.

As such, Barcelona are confident they have enough alternatives in the squad and will not pursue a midfielder in January.