Barcelona were hit with a fresh injury blow earlier this week when Robert Lewandowski hobbled off the pitch during the game against FC Porto.
It was later confirmed that the 35-year-old striker has suffered an ankle sprain and as a result, he is now expected to be out for close to a month.
This comes as a major blow for Barça given that they have some important fixtures coming over the next month, including the Clasico against Real Madrid on October 28.
With Lewandowski on the sidelines and there being no other natural No. 9 in the squad, Ferran Torres is the best placed to replace him in Xavi’s starting XI in the upcoming games.
Joao Felix a surprise option
However, SPORT’s Sergi Capdevila is reporting that Xavi could even turn to on-loan Barcelona star Joao Felix as a surprise solution for the centre-forward position.
The 23-year-old has made a positive start to life as a Barça player since joining from Atletico Madrid on a season-long loan deal on deadline day.
Felix has mostly been used on the left flank by manager Xavi so far, with the Portuguese international, whose market value stands at €50 million, producing a return of three goals and two assists from seven matches.
Xavi has previously spoken about the attacker’s versatile nature and even though he is not a deadly finisher like Lewandowski, the 23-year-old can offer some other qualities to the team while playing through the centre and can score goals.
Across his career, Felix has played 40 games as an out-and-out centre-forward, scoring 13 goals and setting up eight more.
Ferran deserves to start, but Felix a handy option
Given that Ferran Torres is currently the second-highest goalscorer for Barcelona this season, it is only fair that he starts in Robert Lewandowski’s absence in the upcoming match against Granada.
Meanwhile, with Raphinha still out with an injury, Xavi does not have much of an option but to keep Joao Felix on the left and Lamine Yamal on the right.
But once the Brazilian returns from injury, there could be some room for rotation or the Barça head coach could also decide to fall back on his tactics of using four midfielders on the pitch.
And during these scenarios, Joao Felix would present himself as an option to play through the middle.
