Barcelona learn from mistakes in 2023 as changes made to transfer strategy

Barcelona’s 2023 summer transfer window was, in hindsight, not very good. The loss of Sergio Busquets was a major one, and with the exception of Ilkay Gundogan, the signings made flattered to deceive.

Within Can Barca, there was an overall belief that the club moved players on too quickly last summer. Franck Kessie, Nico Gonzalez, Julian Araujo, Pablo Torre, Estanis Pedrola and Alex Valle all departed relatively early, which left Xavi Hernandez short of options early on in the season – and they never recovered from this.

As a result, Barcelona have changed their approach to moving players on for this summer’s transfer window. As reported by Sport, early departures will not be sought, with the idea being for Hansi Flick to oversee as many players as possible for as long as possible.

One of the players who is affected by this is Oriol Romeu. He’ll almost certainly be leaving Barcelona this summer, with a return to Girona on the cards. However, his sale will not take place in the immediate future, especially considering that Flick has a severe lack of midfield options for the first game of the season against Valencia – right now, only Gundogan and Romeu will be available as senior personnel.