Xavi Hernandez keen on 22-year-old La Liga playmaker with €60m release clause

Barcelona are continuing to scour the market for their next big project, and from the noises coming out of Catalonia, it appears that another creative midfielder is still on Xavi Hernandez’s mind.

Recently the surprisingly low release clauses of Dani Olmo and Bernardo Silva were revealed, and while Sporting Director Deco will tell his scouts to make an extra effort to find young talents before they burst onto the international scene, the Blaugrana are still looking at some of the brightest names in the game.

According to MD, Villarreal’s 22-year-old midfielder Alex Baena is of interest to Xavi. Baena has gone from strength to strength since breaking into the first team at Villarreal, and now is one of their biggest threats. Last season he scored 12 goals and got 6 assists in 48 appearances, and already he has three goal contributions after four games, including a lovely curling effort against Barcelona.

Baena is blessed with excellent vision, a pinpoint pass and rasping shot. Recently Villarreal tied him down to a new deal that locks him into the Yellow Submarine until 2028. He has a release clause of €60m. One of the key reasons for Xavi’s desire to recruit another creative force in the middle is the constant injuries to Pedri, who once again has been struck down at the start of this season.

Like Olmo and Silva, the price tag is not immediately prohibitive at first look, yet unless they can negotiate major sales, any of Olmo, Baena or Silva will remain pipe dreams. In addition, Villarreal are notoriously tough negotiators, as Barcelona will be aware of from their talks over Juan Foyth.

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