As quoted by Fabrizio Romano (h/t Football.London), Xavi has ruled out any transfer move involving star midfielder Frenkie de Jong amid a potential swap offer from Chelsea involving injury-ridden Christian Pulisic.
Christian Pulisic‘s recent injuries have prevented him from reaching his true level. He is yet to get a proper run of starts with the Blues this season despite the Premier League slowly approaching its mid-season timeline.
The reinforcements of foreign stars like Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku has made it challenging for him to earn some minutes under Thomas Tuchel. And amidst this, Barcelona apparently showed interest in signing Pulisic.
As per El Nacional (h/t Football.london) that the Blues board gave the Catalan club two options. Xavi’s team can sign the American winger for £42million in cash or involve star player Frenkie de Jong in a swap deal.
Even though the current financial crisis would make the swap deal more reasonable for the Spanish team, new manager Xavi is unwilling to give up one of the squad’s key players.
Ahead of taking on Unai Emery’s Villareal in the La Liga, he strongly insisted on the need to keep hold of such a quality player.
“Our goal is for Frenkie to be happy here. We desperately need that type of player.”
The Spanish legend even suggested that the Blaugrana outfit won’t exhibit the Dutch player in the market as the manager’s current plan to make the team competitive again involves the player.
“He is definitely not in the shop window, rather the opposite. The idea is to make him stronger here.”
Barcelona, no doubt, have shown a severe drop in performance in recent seasons, with the problem compounding after Lionel Messi’s departure. But, De Jong remains a world-class midfielder and has become a vital member of the squad. His passing skills and the eye for a killer ball makes him a potent addition in any team’s midfield.
The West Londoners could have used the Ajax player as a long-term replacement for N’Golo Kanté and Jorginho. The Frenchman is arguably one of the best players in the league but it’s not like he is immortal or impervious to injuries.
Saul Niguez was brought in this summer on a loan deal but has been unconvincing so far. Conor Gallagher and Billy Gilmour are two up and coming midfielders, but they could use some time before they are thrown into the Chelsea XI.
This is where De Jong could have slotted in. But Xavi’s verdict could mean the Blues’ apparent desire to bring in the midfielder won’t be fulfilled this time. Pulisic, on the other hand, has time ahead of him. He can be a big squad player for us and it remains to be seen exactly what role he plays in the long term under Tuchel.
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