Xavi set to give Barcelona outcast a lifeline in pre-season tour
Robin Bairner
- 9 Jul 2022 08:47 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona’s squad for their forthcoming tour of the USA is set to show glimpse into Xavi’s thinking ahead of the 2022/23 season. It will give fans an insight into who the head coach trusts and who he does not – and it is expected that there will be at least one big name called in from the cold.
Barca are set to play four friendlies over the course of XI days, tackling not only the best that MLS has to offer, but also a coupe of Europe’s leading teams. They begin with a match against Inter Miami on 19 July, continue with a Clasico against Real Madrid on 23 July in Las Vegas, go on to Dallas to play Juventus on 26 July and then conclude against New York Red Bulls on 30 July.
With La Liga starting just two weeks after they return from this trip, much of the coach’s planning for the season ahead will be done while in the USA.
It is telling, then, the decisions that he is poised to make.
Barcelona's 2022/23 pre-season schedule
| Date | Home | Away | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 July | UE Olot | Barcelona | Olot, Spain |
| 19 July | Inter Miami | Barcelona | Miami, USA |
| 23 July | Real Madrid | Barcelona | Las Vegas, USA |
| 26 July | Barcelona | Juventus | Dallas, USA |
| 30 July | New York Red Bulls | Barcelona | Harrison, USA |
| 7 August | Barcelona | UNAM | Barcelona, Spain |
Barcelona's squad for pre-season tour
Unsurprisingly, the players that he is seeking to move on from the club will not make the squad, according to Mundo Deportivo. Riqui Puig, Samuel Umtiti and Oscar Mingueza are the most prominent names who will be left out, while Neto and Rey Manaj, who is close to signing for Watford, will also fail to make the cut.
Perhaps the most interesting call that Xavi is set to make, though, involves Miralem Pjanic.
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The Bosnia international midfielder arrived in Barcelona in 2020 as part of a controversial deal that saw Arthur move in the opposite direction to Juventus. Many pundits believe that the two clubs did the transfer as an accountancy trick to balance their poor financial figures rather than out of footballing necessity.
After featuring scarcely in his first season at the club, Pjanic moved to Besiktas on loan last summer and played 26 times, scoring four goals in a campaign that was interrupted by injury.
Xavi, though, is set to give the 32-year-old a shot to win his place in the squad for next season.
Although the situation is improving, Barcelona still do not have their financial problems to seek, so if Pjanic was to prove himself on the US tour, it would be a major boost for his coach.
