Xavi wants Barcelona to sign €80m-rated defender as he prepares to take over at Camp Nou

It finally happened. After weeks of speculations, Barcelona decided to axe Ronald Koeman as manager after the club’s latest setback on Wednesday night when they lost 1-0 to Rayo Vallecano.

Coming into the game on the back of a defeat in El Clasico, the Catalans needed a victory at all costs. However, what followed was yet another dour display that lacked the clinical edge in front of the goal and solidity in defence.

The result left Barcelona in the ninth spot in La Liga, six points off of leaders Real Madrid. And, having previously exercised patience with Koeman, Joan Laporta finally decided to swing the axe, with the confirmation coming a few hours after the game.

In the aftermath of the 58-year-old’s sacking, former Barcelona midfielder and club legend Xavi has become the frontrunner to be named the next manager. The 41-year-old, who enjoyed an illustrious playing career with the Blaugrana, has been doing a sterling job as manager of Qatari outfit Al Sadd.

Xavi wants Jules Kounde at Barcelona

In a short time with the club, Xavi has led them to seven trophies and recently reached the 100-game landmark. Now set to take over at Camp Nou, it seems like the Barca icon already has plans in place to improve the squad.

As reported by Gerard Romero, the former midfielder has asked the club to bolster their defensive ranks with the signing of Jules Kounde. The 22-year-old Frenchman has been with Sevilla since 2019 and has grown into one of the most reliable centre-backs in La Liga.

He was being chased by a host of top clubs during the summer, but a move did not materialise due to Sevilla’s massive transfer fee demands. Now, Barcelona have also thrown their hat in the ring for the signing of the ball-playing defender.

Gerard Pique is very much at the tail-end of his career and Eric Garcia has been unable to perform at the levels expected of him since arriving in the summer. With both Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti also out of favour, Barca could do with a more reliable presence in their backline, and Kounde would provide that.

The French international is believed to have a massive €80million release clause in his contract. That could make it difficult for Barcelona to sign him if Sevilla are unwilling to negotiate over a lower transfer fee.