Conflict at Barcelona between coach Xavi and sporting director Deco over signings

For years Barcelona has had financial problems that prevent them from spending a lot of money on signings and building a top level team that would allow them to compete with other giants in Europe, such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, to win the Champions League title. In fact, the last time they achieved this was in 2015, when the squad included stars such as Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta.

Gradually things have improved since Joan Laporta is the president, and even last season they won the La Liga title, but financial fair play is still an issue. That is why during the upcoming January transfer window Los Blaugranas will have few alternatives and will have to choose very well which player to sign.

One thing is certain: they need a center-forward who can replace, or even compete with, Robert Lewandowski. Currently there is no other player with these characteristics in the squad and that is not enough to compete with other teams. That is why Vitor Roque, Brazilian striker of Athletico Paranaense, is the main target.

But the attack is not the only sector of the field where alternatives are needed. With Gavi's injury, the midfield is also depopulated. Everyone agrees on that, although coach Xavi Hernandez and sporting director Deco do not agree on what kind of player they need.

What are the options?

According to Sport newspaper, Xavi believes that the ideal is to sign an attacking midfielder (like Tottenham's Giovani Lo Celso, for example), something he already asked for in the summer and which was not fulfilled in order to prioritize the arrival of Joao Felix. But Deco believes that in that position it is not so urgent to add players and that a holding midfielder, such as Guido Rodriguez, is more necessary.