Barcelona have appointed former midfielder Xavi Hernandez as the club’s new manager.
The Spaniard has taken over from Ronald Koeman after a disastrous start to the league campaign and he will be expected to get Barcelona’s season back on track in the coming weeks.
It appears that Xavi is already making transfer plans to improve the side and the former midfielder is now plotting a surprise sale.
According to El Chiringuito (via Daily Star), the newly appointed Barcelona manager is prepared to cash in on the Netherlands international Frenkie de Jong.
The former Ajax player is one of the best central midfielders in the world and the plan to let him leave the club seems quite surprising. However, Xavi feels comfortable in letting the player leave because of the number of talented youngsters at his disposal in the same position.
Youngsters like Pedri and Gavi have exploded onto the first-team scene recently and both players have been tipped to develop into top-class players in the future. Pedri has already established himself as a mainstay for club and country recently and Gavi has made quite an impression in the recent weeks as well.
Furthermore, Xavi has the options of Riqui Puig and Nico as well.
It seems that the Barcelona midfield is well stocked for the future and the departure of De Jong would allow the club to strengthen the other areas of the pitch.
The Spanish club are currently in a financial crisis and they have had to let go of players like Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann earlier on in the summer.
The departure of De Jong will not only bring in funds for new signings, it would also lower the wage bill of the club.
Barcelona are thought to be keen on improving their attack and they have identified the likes of Raheem Sterling and Karim Adeyemi as potential targets.
It remains to be seen whether they can find a proper buyer for the Dutch international midfielder and replace him with two quality attackers during the winter transfer window.