Xavi turns attention to £69m La Liga star after bolstering forward line

Xavi Hernandez's first priority since taking over at the Camp Nou was reinforcing the squad's forward line. Barcelona lost Sergio Aguero, who was forced to retire, and were left with Luuk de Jong as the only available number nine. Meanwhile the manager also wanted new wide attacking players with Ousmane Dembele out injured, and Memphis Depay not to his liking.

The Catalan club agreed to his demands and brought in three new attackers in Ferran Torres, Adama Traore and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Xavi has now turned his attention to his backline and wants a new look when the summer transfer window gets underway ahead of next season.

Gerard Pique is in the twilight of his career, while Samuel Umtiti and Clement Lenglet have fallen out of favour under the new manager, which leaves Ronald Araujo and Eric Garcia as the only quality options in the long-term. The Barcelona boss is keen to bring in at least two new signings at centre-back while also looking for a back up at left-back for veteran Jordi Alba.

According to Sport, Barcelona are hoping to first offload Umtiti, Lenglet and Oscar Mingueza in the summer before bringing in replacements to shore up the back line. Among the club's main targets are Chelsea's Andreas Christensen, Sevilla's Jules Kounde and Juventus star Matthijs de Ligt.

Christensen will be the easiest to sign of the aforementioned trio, as he will be available on a free transfer when his contract with the Blues expires in June. The Denmark international has been in talks with Barcelona, but the club are yet to finalise a deal in the event that one of Kounde or De Ligt, who are the club's primary targets, become available.

The latter two from Sevilla and Juventus are likely to command a hefty transfer fee, while their wage demands are also expected to be more than the Danish centre-back. Moreover, Kounde, who is rated at £69 million, and De Ligt are also being targeted by Premier League clubs Chelsea and Manchester United respectively. The English clubs will be able to meet their financial demands unlike Barcelona, who are mired in financial problems at the moment.

Another option for Xavi is Cesar Azpilicueta, who is also out of contract with Chelsea, and could move to his homeland in the summer. The 32-year-old, however, will not fit the long-term vision of the manager, and will be a short-term fix unlike, Christensen, Kounde and De Ligt.