Chelsea have held a positive meeting regarding a deal to bring Barcelona midfielder Gavi to the Premier League, according to reports.
What's the latest on Gavi's future?
The Spaniard arrived at Camp Nou when he joined the Blaugrana’s youth side in 2015 and has since gone on to work his way up through the academy ranks to become a regular feature of the first team, making 87 appearances.
His contract isn’t set to expire for another three years, but Xavi is at risk of losing him on a free transfer at the end of the season as a result of La Liga not approving the registration of his contract extension due to a salary cap, meaning that he remains on his youth deal.
Despite making 22 league starts and five substitute outings this season, as per WhoScored, the 18-year-old is reportedly upset with how Barca have handled the situation and might therefore be on the lookout for his next destination – which could potentially be Stamford Bridge.
According to Spanish outlet AS (via TEAMtalk), Chelsea have held “positive initial talks” about signing Gavi ahead of the 2023/24 term. The Blues have “already been meeting” with the teenager’s representative, Ivan de la Pena and it is believed that technical director Christopher Vivell “emphasised” how much of an integral member of the squad he would be should he move to SW6.
Both parties are claimed to have walked away feeling optimistic about how the meeting went, which took place three weeks ago in Madrid. As a result, they have “mutually agreed” to continue negotiations leading up to the summer. The Blues would reportedly be willing to hand the £115k-per-week talent a sizable signing-on bonus as an extra incentive, with the next round of discussions set to occur “soon”.
Would Gavi be a good signing for Chelsea?
Gavi has been dubbed an “erupting volcano” by former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique, who is interestingly a managerial target for Chelsea, so should he take over the reins, this could give them an advantage in the race to secure the youngster’s services.
The Nike-sponsored star is naturally a central midfielder and has provided six assists and two goals across all competitions this season, as per Transfermarkt, which is impressive for someone of his age at this high level.
The Spain international also ranks in the 96th percentile for progressive passes received, showing that he’s often getting himself into the right positions in and around the box, which is further backed up by being in the 95th percentile for the number of touches in the attacking penalty area (FBref).
To compare him with Mateo Kovacic too, the youngster has recorded a 6.96 average Sofascore rating compared to the 6.78 of the Croatian.
Gavi will know what it takes to compete at the highest level having had experience playing at the World Cup, as well as in the Champions and Europa League for Barca, so possesses the winning mentality needed to match the current squad at Stamford Bridge.