Joan Laporta plans to back Xavi with 3 January signings
By Tom Gott
Barcelona president Joan Laporta is eyeing three signings in the January transfer window to help new manager Xavi push for silverware.
Xavi's return to Camp Nou was confirmed in the early hours of Saturday morning and now attention has turned to getting Barcelona out of the rut in which they find themselves.
The team sit ninth in La Liga ahead of Saturday's meeting with Celta Vigo, for which Xavi hopes to be in attendance, and supporters have been crying out for more signings to shake up the squad and get Barcelona firing again.
Financial problems limited Barcelona's spending in the summer, but as noted by TV3, Laporta is not expecting to face similar issues in January as he confirmed to reporters that the team are currently eyeing three signings.
Laporta accepted that Barcelona would have to offload some players before bringing in new ones, but the hope is that three new faces can kick the Xavi reign off with a bang.
The general consensus is that Barcelona will go for a striker. Martin Braithwaite is injured and Sergio Aguero faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a heart problem. Summer signing Luuk de Jong hasn't done enough and Sport believe his loan could be terminated in the coming months.
Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland is the dream long-term target, but for now, AS believe contact has already been made with Beijing Sinobo Guoan striker Cedric Bakambu, whose contract in China expires next month.
Bakambu has been targeted for a while now, with Barcelona remembering his run of 31 goals in 75 La Liga games with Villarreal between 2015 and 2018, and there is hope that he may finally make the move to Camp Nou in January.
Another target, according to Sport, is Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman, for whom Xavi is believed to have something of a soft spot.
The Frenchman's contract expires in 2023 and talks over an extension have not made much progress, so Barcelona are believed to be plotting a move to bring Coman in for a bargain price and give Xavi one of his dream signings.