New Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has made it clear that he intends to prioritise the contract renewal of French forward Ousmane Dembele.
The Barcelona legend took the reins at the helm of the club after they parted ways with Ronald Koeman last month.
Xavi believes Dembele could be “the best player in the world in his position” if he signs a contract extension with the club.
The World Cup winner hasn’t lived up to expectations at the Camp Nou and has struggled with injuries keeping him out of the squad amidst a contract battle with the club.
However, Xavi, speaking to reporters during his unveiling on Monday, revealed that he has plans for Dembele and would try to convince him to commit his future to the club by signing a contract extension.
“For me, Dembele, he can be the best player in the world in his position.
“But you have to work with him and demand it. It depends on him, on his mentality, that he is free from injury, that he has high performance levels.
“His renewal is a priority for me.”
Xavi impressed in his managerial stint in Qatar with Al Sadd and there’s no doubt that a lot is expected of the Spaniard.
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Barca are currently ninth in the La Liga standings, 11 points adrift of surprise leaders Real Sociedad. He has hence been trusted to turn the club’s poor form around.
While it is obvious Xavi values the presence of Dembele in the squad, the futures of some other players like Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umititi who fell out of favour with the previous coach, hangs in the balance.
When asked on his position with the players, he replied:
“I don’t know yet because I haven’t seen them. But this is our job, they all start from scratch, I count on everyone and then we will see, it is about training and demand. They all start from zero.”
On the prospect of new arrivals in the January transfer window, Xavi responded that it was too early to say.
“We are going to assess it with the club and we are going to decide. It is too soon to say, but we are going to work to strengthen the team, it is always an opportunity.
“For me, it is clear, we must recover the demand for success and that the players are clear about what they have to do in each moment of the game.”
Barcelona will play host to Espanyol after the international break on November 20th in what will be Xavi’s first game in charge.
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