Barcelona’s pre-season preparations kick off this Monday

No signings or departures have been announced yet, but president Joan Laporta revealed on Saturday that Barcelona will present Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie this week.

Barcelona need to sign more players and offload certain men

Barcelona’s pre-season preparations kick off this Monday, although the players who were on international duty in June having been permitted to join up with the rest of their teammates later this month. No signings or departures have been announced yet, but president Joan Laporta revealed on Saturday that Barcelona will present Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie this week. However, in their bid to strengthen their squad, Barcelona need to sign more players and offload certain men to make space within their salary limits. Marc-Andre ter Stegen is the undisputed starter, while Inaki Pena has returned from his loan spell. The two men will be assigned with the task of covering the position, with B team goalkeeper Arnau Tenas being an extra option. Meanwhile, Neto is still part of the squad, and he is not expected to depart the club this week.

Mingueza is talking with Monza, while Lenglet will sign for Tottenham

Samuel Umtiti, Oscar Mingueza and Clement Lenglet are closing in on their respective departures. The former is heading to Rennes, who are negotiating a formula with Barcelona to avoid covering his entire salary. Meanwhile, Mingueza is talking with Monza, while Lenglet will sign for Tottenham. Following their departures, Barcelona will have Sergino Dest and Moussa Wague at right-back and Ronald Araujo, Gerard Pique, Eric Garcia and Christensen as centre-backs, with Jordi Alba and Alejandro Balde being the two options at left-back. If Barcelona manage to sign targets Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso, Wague and Balde will likely both leave. Miralem Pjanic is due to return from a loan, but he is expected to depart the club, with his high salary the only issue for potential suitors.

Riqui Puig will also leave the Blaugrana, and it also remains to be seen what happens with Frenkie de Jong, whose departure to the Premier League can’t be ruled out. Therefore, Xavi currently has Sergio Busquets, Kessie, De Jong, Gavi, Pedri, Nico Gonzalez, Sergi Roberto and Alex Collado in midfield. The team suffered last season due to their lack of finishing touch, and that issue can be solved by signing a great striker. Robert Lewandowski is Barcelona’s primary target, but Bayern Munich are not willing to let him leave. Trincao will not return to Barcelona, and Martin Braithwaite is reluctant to depart, even though he knows Xavi doesn’t count on him. Ousmane Dembele is a free agent, but the two parties are still discussing a potential contract renewal. For the time being, Xavi can count on Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Memphis Depay.

It remains to be seen who will be their right-winger, with Leeds United’s Raphinha a target if Dembele doesn’t renew.