Midfielder has expressed desire to agents that he wants to join Barcelona

On paper, Barcelona’s two strongest positions currently are in central defence and central midfield, but manager Xavi Hernandez is keen to strengthen the latter. Beyond the well-known desire to bring in a pivot to screen the defence, Xavi would happily sanction the signing of another central midfielder.

One of those is also public knowledge, Manchester City star Bernardo Silva is a long-term target of Xavi’s, and the 29-year-old appears to be willing to take on a new challenge this summer. However the finances of a deal for a player with a €58m release clause are far from clear at this point. He is seen as a player that would lift the ceiling of the side.

The second name has not been linked to Barcelona frequently, but periodically, Xavi Simons‘ potential return to the club is floated. Leaving as a teenager for Paris Saint-Germain, Simons is coming to the end of a second successful loan spell at RB Leipzig, following on from a similarly impressive year with PSV Eindhoven.

The financial difficulties of Barcelona could lead Joshua Kimmich to end up renewing at Bayern Munich. @tjuanmarti

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Sport say that in the case of Simons, he has let his camp know that he would be delighted to return to Barcelona, and recently changed agents to Darren Dein, who also helped seal an agreement between Barcelona and Spotify, meaning the two have a relationship. Xavi values the Dutchman’s capacity to break the lines and the fact that he is well-versed in Barcelona’s style of play, having come through La Masia.

If he were to arrive, it would have to be on loan, as he has a contract until 2027, and Barcelona are unlikely to be able to persuade PSG to part with him for cash. Simons is currently set to return to PSG this summer, before holding talks on his future.

It seems unlikely that PSG would be willing to allow Simons to head to Barcelona, given the historically strained relations between the clubs, albeit the Catalan daily say they have improved. All the same, unless Xavi can promise his namesake a regular starting role, it seems unlikely that it would make sense for any of the parties involved.

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