Xavi approves the signing of potential Fati replacement at Barcelona

Ansu Fati already finds himself on the fringes of Xavi‘s squad, and if Barcelona sign another left-winger, the wise option in the summer would be to part ways with his boyhood club.

There are more chants of Lionel Messi, the club’s former Number 10 at Camp Nou these days than his successor, Fati, who seldom finds himself on the pitch. Barcelona have played 28 times in La Liga this season, but the 20-year-old has only managed to force his way into Xavi’s starting lineup 11 times. In Europe, he has only started twice out of eight games.

“What bothers me is how they are treating Ansu for minutes. One minute, two minutes, three minutes, that’s what bothers me,” Bori Fati, the player’s father, told Spanish radio station Cope (via the Daily Mail). He further added that he has told Fati to leave the club.

With Ousmane Dembélé injured, Xavi has fewer attacking options, and Pedri’s absence has led to the manager switching back to a three-man frontline instead of a box-midfield. The situation has worked in Fati’s favour, with the winger getting three starts in the last five league games.

Xavi approves the signing of Carrasco at Barcelona

However, in two of the fixtures (Girona and Valencia), Fati was hooked off right after the hour mark after failing to impress. His only goal involvement of in La Liga in 2023 came against 20th-place Elche after the international break.

Barcelona, meanwhile, have the option to sign Atletico Madrid left-winger Yannick Carrasco for a fee in the region of €15-20 million. It is now being claimed by journalist Gabriel Sans (via Reshad Rahman) that Xavi and his staff have approved the arrival of the Belgian at the end of the season.

Once Xavi’s preferred options are back in the fold, it won’t surprise many if Fati returns back to warming the bench. And the arrival of Carrasco at Barcelona could prove to be the final nail in the coffin.