Marseille have made an inquiry to sign 20-year-old Barcelona midfielder

Marseille’s interest in Miralem Pjanic is no more a secret, but what is, in fact, one is that they have also inquired about the availability of a certain Nico Gonzalez.

According to what Alfredo Martinez has written in his column for Spanish news outlet SPORT, Marseille manager Jorge Sampaoli remains a big admirer and it was on his command that the Ligue 1 side took the first step.

For Barcelona, their plan with the 20-year-old midfielder is pretty much straightforward. They want to see how he performs during the pre-season and on the back of it, his destiny will be decided.

As of today, Xavi is not particularly keen on parting ways with the midfielder and he seems to be counting on him as he believes Nico could be of great help in case no more midfielders arrive in the summer.

New midfielder or not, Nico’s chances of finding a regular first-team spot are anyway bleak. To put things in perspective, Barcelona have signed Franck Kessie which essentially means Nico is now the sixth choice midfielder after Sergio Busquets, Gavi, Pedri, Kessie and Frenkie de Jong.

Even if de Jong is to leave, one cannot discount the fact that a certain Sergi Roberto can also be used in the middle of the park too.

Barcelona are aware of the interest Nico has generated over the last couple of weeks. In fact, the 20-year-old was a subject of an intense debate between the board and super-agent Jorge Mendes where it was initially established that the team do have a place for him.

But things can change in football in no time, to say the very least. It’s evident that if Nico is to stay, he will demand more minutes which is simply not feasible for Xavi to afford. And so, he might as well be sold if a good offer comes along.