Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has once again been shown his £41million transfer regret as Barcelona’s Gavi steps up once again on the European stage for the Catalan giants.
Gavi, 17, was linked to making a surprise and shock move to west London in the early parts of the summer when Barcelona were in financial difficulty.
However, Barca’s agreement to sell certain big stars like the one and only Lionel Messi had allowed the club some wiggle room regarding their stance on their youngster despite Abramovich’s ploy to try and pounce on the uncertainty.
As per Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona have never been worried about the Russian billionaire’s interest in a player who stepped up for the La Liga outfit as they restored parity in their UEFA Europa league Round of 16 tie against Napoli heading into the away Italian leg in a few weeks time.
He tweeted: “Gavi was born in June 2004 (!). Important to remember. Another great performance showing his quality & leadership.
“Barcelona are not even worried with Chelsea rumours as he only wants to stay. New contract talks at final stages, €50m (£41m) release clause will be removed.”
“We have to renew him already, if we need we’ll get the money between us,” Xavi told SPORT ahead of Barcelona’s trip to Sevilla on Tuesday night. “We can’t lose these type of players. They have to be the base of the future.
“I understand that the club are working very hard for Gavi’s renewal, that’s fundamental for the team.”
Sooner or later, the announcement regarding the youngster will finally put Abramovich’s £41m dream to bed one way or another and this may be a blessing in disguise despite the initial disappointment.
In spite of the 17-year-old’s continued development under the club legend’s stewardship which is shown by the fact that he currently ranks in the top 10 in La Liga, as per FBref.com, for successful through balls (1st- 8) and xG per 90 when starting (7th- 0.85), his signing would have certainly provided an Iron type barrier for the likes of Conor Gallagher and Billy Gilmour to somehow break down.
With at least one or two of Aurelien Tchouameni, Declan Rice and Paul Pogba amongst other midfield targets expected to sign this summer amid uncertainty for Saul Niguez, Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, the signing of Gavi would have caused turmoil for one of the aforementioned youngsters who still dream to make it eventually in SW6.