Chelsea chief Marina Granovskaia set to test Barcelona’s faith in Xavi

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Barcelona are expected to appoint former midfielder Xavi as their manager very soon, but it might not be smooth sailing for the club legend. The Catalan club’s financial woes have meant that their business in transfer windows has been quite underwhelming recently – losing Lionel Messi and replacing him with Luuk de Jong – but the directors need to decide how much faith they want to put in Xavi to turn things around.

According to Football Espana, Xavi is keen for Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman to be one of the first signings of his tenure.

The Frenchman has enjoyed spells at Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and now Bayern and holds an unbelievable record that might spark some success at the Camp Nou if he does make the move.

In all ten seasons that Coman has played professionally, he has won the league title with whatever club he is playing for.

The winger’s contract with Bayern expires in 2023 but no progress has been made on an extension, meaning the Bundesliga outfit could be tempted to offload the 25-year-old in January to ensure they receive a fee for the forward.

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But Barca aren’t the only club interested in Coman, as 90min have revealed that Chelsea are also keen to sign the winger.

The Blues have plenty of talent on the flanks with Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz as options, but Thomas Tuchel feels the addition of another forward could improve his team.

The Stamford Bridge outfit are thought to be monitoring the forever Juve player’s contractual situation and seeing how that pans out before making their approach.

Chelsea are currently top of the Premier League and look like the team to beat, which will be an exciting prospect for Coman.

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However, if Barca are planning a major rebuild under the management of a club legend then it may prove persuasive.

Chelsea chief Marina Granovskaia has proven that she is willing to go toe to toe with other negotiators to ensure that players end up signing at Stamford Bridge, and she may already have the upper hand if both Chelsea and Barcelona submit offers.

Given how Barca have been forced to sell some of their key assets recently to try to relieve some of the financial pressure the club is under, they may not be able to match significant offers put forward by the London club.

If the La Liga side does acknowledge that their new boss will need investment to take them back to their glory days then you would expect they will do everything they can to sign Coman, but if he signs for Chelsea with no competition then it will indicate the boundaries of Xavi’s control.

The 41-year-old is yet to actually put pen to paper at the Camp Nou, but he has revealed that he is working with his current employers – Qatari side Al Sadd – to get the deal over the line.

He said: “I have been talking to Barca for days, it’s all set. The clubs know my position and I hope it gets resolved soon,

“The clubs are talking. I can’t say much but I’m a positive person. It’s about common sense. They need to reach an agreement. That’s the issue,” Xavi said.

“I wish I go back home. Going back to Barcelona would be spectacular and exciting.”

It remains to be seen how big the budget is that Xavi will receive upon his arrival and whether he will be able to guide them up the La Liga table after a disappointing start – winning just four of their opening 11 games.

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