Xavi wants to Barcelona to sign veteran La Liga defender alongside Jules Kounde

It seems Xavi wants to leave no stones unturned ahead of next season and wants Barcelona to expand their transfer agenda even further. The club have almost completed the signing of Jules Kounde, but the manager wants to go after yet another La Liga defender.

According to a recent report published by SPORT, Xavi wants Barcelona to sign Inigo Martinez after the club has wrapped up the signing for Kounde. He is very fond of the veteran centre-back and believes that he could help the defence take several leaps forward ahead of an important season.

Barça were linked to the veteran defender when the Kounde deal started falling through, and they are now back in pursuit of the Spaniard.

It is important to note that Barcelona have already spent nearly €150 million to acquire Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie, Pablo Torre, and possibly Kounde.

Martinez, too, will be an expensive acquisition, even though his contract expires in the summer of 2023. Athletic Club are not in favour of selling the player and are not afraid to drag out his contract extension talks further, even if it means risking a Bosman move next year.

His release clause stands at €80 million, but he has requested the Bilbao outfit to negotiate his departure at a reasonable price since he does not want to continue. He likes the project Xavi is building at Barcelona and has apparently already given his approval to the coach.

Barça Universal’s take

There are several upsides to pursuing Martinez this summer. Firstly, If Athletic are forced to sell, he could arrive at a discounted price due to his contract situation.

Secondly, he is a fantastic defender, and was among the best in his position in the league last season. The 31-year-old oversaw an incredible 13 clean sheets in the 2021/22 campaign as the Basque outfit boasted the third-best defensive record.

Thirdly, Barcelona do not have a single left-footed centre-back in the senior team (except Samuel Umtiti) after the exit of Clement Lenglet, and Martinez brings that asset.

Despite his foot preference, though, he is not a solid passer of the ball. There are serious doubts over his ability to progress the ball, and if Xavi wants the Spaniard to fill in as the third defender in a 3-4-3, he could face serious issues.

That said, he is obviously a part of the Spanish National Team coached by Luis Enrique, who values similar profiles as Xavi. So if there is any truth to this news, there is clearly something in Inigo Martinez that we might be missing.