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From the pits of Koeman-led despair, Barcelona actually put together a respectable campaign. The Cules finished second in the league and salvaged Champions League football. With a massive deficit that coach Ronald Koeman left and basically without any money due to poor transfer policies, Barcelona looked like a team that would take years to assemble again.
Yet, they are still here and now look to a pivotal summer. Many signings are being talked about, but their roster is also important for this discussion. Let's look at three players Barcelona can't afford to lose in the summer transfer window.
Barcelona mainstays for next season
Gavi
Now, Gavi is likely not going to leave, at least not because Barcelona want him to. However, his contract extension talks have stalled and there is a lot of tension between the youngster's team and Barcelona's board.
Thus, it would not be that surprising if he does end up leaving, which would be a terrible move by Barcelona. After summers and summers of endless spending, Barcelona finally decided to turn to their young talent from La Masia. Gavi is one such talent, and if a small dispute about the contract ends up being the reason he leaves, that would be a move that could really come back to bite the Catalans. Gavi is an excellent player who can become even better as time goes on.
If we look at the stats, Gavi is looking like a very stable and creative midfielder. He completed 89.3% of his passes in La Liga this season and 61.6% of his dribbles, which are great numbers, especially at the age of 17. He played like a mature individual, and his talents were recognized by Barcelona coach Xavi, who decided to use him more and more as the season went on. After the line is drawn on the season, two goals and five assists may not look as impressive, but 34 out of 38 league games played and the fact that he played the sixth-most minutes on the entire roster are stats that speak for themselves.
Gavi should get an immediate contract extension, as he will be a massive part of Barcelona's future.
Ousmane Dembele
When it comes to controversial topics, Ousmane Dembele leads the line in terms of Barcelona and their roster. The French winger arrived from BVB in 2017 for a whopping €145 million and has generally disappointed. In five years, Dembele reached over 25 league games just twice and hit 30 just once. Overall, 150 appearances across all competitions and 32 goals do not sound impressive.
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Additionally, his contract extension talks have been going on for a while, and it might be a case of Dembele leaving on a free this summer. Barcelona cannot let that happen, especially not after Dembele has shown what he can do when given time to heal from his injuries.
Dembele finished the 2021-22 La Liga campaign as the top assist provider in the entire league. In 21 league appearances, Dembele assisted his teammates 13 times, which is an elite level of efficiency. It is entirely understandable that Barcelona want to be careful with contract extensions for huge amounts of money. After all, their financial situation and management are a case study for failure in sports.
However, this is not the hill to die on. Dembele is critical for Barcelona, he is just 25, and if he can stay healthy, Dembele would be amazing for the Catalans. Losing him would mean losing a ton of attacking talent for Barcelona, something they cannot really risk at the moment.
Sergino Dest
Just like with Dembele, it is completely understandable that Barcelona fans are somewhat unhappy with Dest. The American right back has been inconsistent to say the least, as he would be elite in one game and could not do anything of note in the next one. That is the reality of having a young squad, however, and all the young talent on this roster is guilty of that.
That does not mean that selling Dest, as some rumors have been circulating, would resolve any issues. On the contrary, it would create a huge problem of what to do with that right flank.
There are options, like playing Ronald Araujo there, but he is much better suited to be a center back, where his pace and physicality could take out a forward from the game. There are no youth products, other than the underwhelming Oscar Mingueza, that could even sniff that right side, so until there is a better solution, Dest must stay.
What Barcelona should do, however, is put Dest at right back, rather than playing him in various positions. Dest played left back for a few games and right wing a lot as well, so his perception as a player was worse for the fan base, due to him changing positions all the time. If Dest gets a full season playing right back, he could show the Cules what they really can expect out of him.
