Gavi, caught in the ruthless battle for a spot at FC Barcelona

After spending almost a year in the FC Barcelona infirmary due to a serious knee injury, Gavi returned to the first team in October 2024, and his role in Hansi Flick's scheme gradually gained importance until he settled into the midfield last January. However, since the trauma suffered against Alavés, the Andalusian's influence in the starting eleven has diminished, losing weight in the team in recent weeks.

The competition in the azulgrana midfield is 'fierce'. Pedri and Frenkie de Jong have established themselves as two indisputable players for the coach, which means four players are fighting for the remaining spot in the midfield. Gavi, Dani Olmo, Marc Casadó, and Fermín López make up the rotation for the German, in a debate that the '6' seemed to have won but has reopened after the return of the egarense following his latest injury.

Indeed, Flick is looking for a more offensive midfield, and Gavi is the main 'victim'. This trend has become clear in the last four matches, where the player was substituted at the 14' against Alavés due to a head collision and missed the Copa match against Valencia due to this concussion. Subsequently, he was substituted at halftime in Sevilla after receiving a yellow card, replaced against Rayo for the same reason, and finally came off the bench in the matches against Las Palmas and Atlético de Madrid.

On the other hand, the German is aware of the competitiveness and drive that the academy player brings to the team, but this intensity with which he plays is starting to weigh him down at times as refereeing in LaLiga is beginning to keep a close eye on him, and his bookings are becoming more frequent, so the coaching staff is working to correct this setback to improve his performance on the field.

Gavi remains a pillar for Barça

Aside from his complicated present, at Can Barça, the confidence in Gavi is total and indisputable. The player has just renewed until 2030 and is one of the pillars of the future project, although the best versions of Pedri or De Jong and the emergence of Marc Casadó and Marc Bernal, whose return is eagerly awaited at the club, have caused his role in the team to shift from being untouchable to something more secondary.

Hansi Flick has a huge dilemma on his hands in the midfield area of the team, where the presence of so many top-quality players has led him to make extremely complicated decisions. For now, Pedri and Frenkie are his two main starters, leaving only one available spot that is being fiercely contested, especially by Gavi and Dani Olmo, who arrived in the City of Barcelona as the star signing of this season.

A nice 'headache' for the coach that leaves the Andalusian in a complicated situation, so it remains to be seen whether the player can overcome this dip in minutes or if the German ultimately confirms his commitment to offensive football and leaves the midfielder with fewer minutes in the final stretch of the season.