During the summer transfer window, calls, offers, and strategies to place players multiply. At FC Barcelona, proposals from footballers with a past or some connection to the club arrive every day. Agents know it: Laporta is looking for bargains, and Deco listens to everything that could improve the team.
Contacts come from many different leagues, although some names are not as surprising as they may seem. There are footballers who, despite having come from the youth academy, still believe they can return. However, the new technical management has clear ideas and doesn't give second chances to just anyone.
One of those names has been placed in Barça's orbit by his own entourage. He is a player with Barça DNA, trained at La Masia, and who excelled in the youth categories. His desire is clear: he wants to come back home to relaunch his career at a top club.
Hansi Flick | @FCBarcelona
A return that doesn't convince the coaching staff
The player has not hesitated to take the first step, letting the club know that he is available. His agent has started exploratory talks, seeking to understand if there is room for his return. But Barça's response has been forceful from the very beginning.
From the offices, they do not see his signing as clear for both financial and sporting reasons. They do not want to repeat past mistakes or hinder the progress of the young players who are coming up strongly. In addition, signing him would require a considerable investment, far from the current policy.
The price set by his current club doesn't help facilitate the operation at all. The entity that owns the player is demanding between €55 million and €65 million. At this time, that amount is impossible for Barça without prior departures or creative formulas.
Flick with Barça | @FCBarcelona
Flick prefers other types of profiles
The coach has been clear with the sporting management from day one: he wants players with intensity. He is looking for dynamic profiles, with range, high pressing, and physical strength without the ball at their feet. In his view, the footballer offered doesn't meet those conditions for the system he wants to implement.
He also believes that signing him would hinder the development of other players with a better tactical fit and more potential. He firmly believes that there are young players in the squad who deserve more trust than a familiar face from the past. In this case, romanticism has clashed with the logic of sporting planning.
Meanwhile, there is an emotional component that the club prefers to avoid for now. The player in question left at the time in search of better contracts, far from the badge that developed him. That was not well received then by either the fans or part of the board.
Xavi Simons | @xavisimons
His performance last season was good, but not enough to justify a major commitment. He has excelled at specific moments, without managing to establish himself as a top-level star. At Can Barça, they believe he needs more maturity before aspiring to return.
The blaugrana board prefers to bet on footballers who have shown loyalty to the project from the beginning. The return of certain figures could create noise and destabilize the harmony Flick is trying to build in the locker room. There is no room for sentimentality in a squad with very specific needs.
Finally, the name of the protagonist of this story has been revealed. It is Xavi Simons, current Leipzig player and former La Masia member. Despite his desire to return, the door is completely closed to him at this time.
