It is more than evident that Barcelona manager Xavi is not afraid of trying new things and for that matter, is more than willing to experiment with the current set of players and if a report from La Vanguardia is to be believed, the manager now wants a more offensive setup.
As such, there is a high possibility that Xavi would go with an offensive 3-4-3 setup on various occasions. The report adds that the Barcelona manager is planning on playing a few games with only three strong and fast defenders.
Furthermore, he has also asked for an additional midfielder apart from Oriol Romeu, who is close to becoming the new Barcelona player for around €8 million, and as it happens to be the case, he wants six players for four midfield positions.
In what could be an interesting turn of events, several first-team members, who were indispensable last season, might lose their place in this case.
Meanwhile, when we speak of being offensive, Ousmane Dembele has already received his lesson through several video sessions while Frenkie de Jong will have the freedom of movement from the middle.
Furthermore, as far as players like Pedri, Gavi and Alejandro Balde are concerned, they have already been taught the positional concept of being more aggressive.
Now, Xavi understands that playing in a 3-4-3 setup will be a risky affair and if opts to go with this, the likes of Jules Kounde, who was clinical to Xavi’s league triumph last season, will have to be sacrificed.
The approach the manager is eyeing only requires three central defenders and only one among Ronald Araujo or Kounde can occupy the right side of the defence. Inigo Martinez, or in his absence, Marco Alonso, will occupy left while Andreas Christensen will be deployed centrally.
In the midfield, either Pedri or Gavi will line alongside new signing Ilkay Gundogan, who will be more advanced than Frenkie de Jong, while Romeu will guard the defence.
Dembele or Ansu Fati can occupy the left side while Robert Lewandowski will lead the attack. Now, what makes this more interesting is the role of Balde. The 19-year-old, who is registered as a defender, will have total freedom of movement in attack and defence.
Furthermore, this approach does not necessarily require a right-back and in case they do, they have Sergi Roberto or Sergino Dest to cover the spot. But the preferred scenario for the manager would be to just deploy one more midfielder.