FC Barcelona began a search for a potential Gavi replacement after the midfielder was ruled out for 7-9 months following a complete Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear he suffered in Spain’s UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifier match against Georgia.
The Catalan club is evaluating their options as they are eager to buy a midfielder on loan for six months to cover up for Gavi, who was one of the most important troops of head coach Xavi Hernandez.
While Xavi could always turn to La Masia to call up players to cover up for the injured midfielder, the club is already considering to buy a replacement on loan as they don’t want to go into the crucial stage of the season with an unstable midfield as Pedri’s fitness remains an issue all the time.
According to Mundo Deportivo, a reliable Spanish news outlet, Barcelone are considering acquiring the services of Argentina and Tottenham Hotspurs’ midfielder Giovani Lo Celso who was also on the club’s radar in the summer.
Despite attempts from Barcelona in previous months, the 27-year-old decided to stay with the North London club to find a place in the system of the new manager Ange Postecoglou. However, that couldn’t be the case as he has just appeared in four games as of now and a move to the Spanish giants can tempt the left-footed midfielder to move from England.
Should Xavi and Barcelona decide to go for the Argentinian midfielder, it will be interesting to see where he would end up playing as except Oriol Romeu, who has failed to give convincing performances so far, all the other midfielders Pedri, Ilkay Gundogan, De Jong and Ferman Lopez prefers to operate in further on the pitch while the Catalan club is in need of a destroyer, who could do dirty work off-the-ball, like Gavi used to.
It must be noted that Barcelona, a club desperate for any extra income, will get around €4-5m in compensation from FIFA for Gavi’s long-term injury, nothing can cover up the loss as one of their most important players will be out for the entire season.
