FC Barcelona is looking for a replacement for Gavi. The Spanish international has a knee injury and is not expected to play again this season. A hard blow for FC Barcelona and for the Spanish selection, since the young midfielder had a major role in both teams. For the moment, the Catalan media remain quite cautious about Barça’s intentions for the transfer window, but the trend is rather towards the arrival of a new environment.
Especially since La Liga’s financial fair play rules allow Barça to slightly exceed its imposed wage bill to recruit, since this is an exceptional case of serious injury. Several names have come out in the local press recently, like Gio Lo Celso, the in-house solution Fermin Lopez, but especially the Parisians Carlos Soler and Fabian Ruiz. FC Barcelona hoped to be able to recruit one of the two Spanish midfielders in the form of a loan with an option to buy this winter.
Luis Enrique said no
But Luis Enrique closed the door. The Paris Saint-Germain coach believes that they can still have a very important role in the team this season, and therefore there will be no possible negotiations with FC Barcelona. The two players, both arriving in the summer of 2022, are rather appreciated by the Spanish tactician who wants to count on as large a squad as possible to go all the way in Europe.
Although neither are real starters, Luis Enrique knows he might need them at some point in the season and believes they can have the level to play more regularly if the opportunity arises. Fabian Ruiz has started 5 of his 11 matches played in Ligue 1 and 0 of 2 appearances in the Champions League, while Carlos Soler has 3 starts in 9 league matches. FC Barcelona will therefore have to turn to other avenues. The media also specifies that both the former Neapolitan and the former Valencia were relatively expensive options given Catalan finances.
