Gavi set to take over Xavi's '6' shirt

For a few weeks now, the Catalan press has been reporting that Barcelona did not want to prioritise the winter transfer window by bringing in new players, but rather by consolidating those who are already part of their squad. In this sense, there may only be a few days left for Gavi to obtain a first-team place in the first team. In this way, he would go from wearing the number 30 to wearing the number 6, the same number that marked the career of his coach, Xavi Hernandez.

The last player to wear this number on his back was Riqui Puig, a young player trained at the Barcelona youth academy who, in contrast to the success of the subject of this article and his contemporaries such as Pedri, was unable to succeed in Barcelona. In his case, he had to leave for the United States to play in the MLS, where, under contract at Los Angeles Galaxy, he is so comfortable that he himself came out to clear up some leaks that warned of an alleged discontent.

Returning to his former team-mate, he has more than earned a place in the senior squad officially, even if, unofficially, it is already evident that he is just another player. He has become a crucial part of his coach's plan, who is delighted with his courage on the pitch. In fact, at his most recent press conference, he defended him against criticism that he is sometimes too aggressive in his tackling.

Barcelona have already achieved some of the first-team registrations it had planned for this month. For example, on 3rd January, Inaki Pena moved from number 26th to number 13th. It is still up in the air, however, that the Spanish side formalise his renewal, something that is also in the pipeline with Gavi and Ronald Araujo, despite the fact that they have already signed their respective contracts.