Xavi confirms Barcelona looking for deadline day signing ahead of Bellerin exit

By Sports Desk January 31, 2023

Xavi confirmed Barcelona are keen on bringing in a deadline day signing ahead of Hector Bellerin's exit.

The full-back is poised to join Sporting CP as a replacement for Tottenham-bound Pedro Porro and will be the second departure from Xavi's squad following Memphis Depay's move to Atletico Madrid.

Reinforcements could be on the cards for the LaLiga leaders, who also lost Gerard Pique to retirement, though Xavi's main focus is Wednesday's clash with Real Betis.

"We are aware of fair play. Hector has asked us to leave because he wants to play more," Xavi told reporters.

"With the departure of Hector, Memphis and the loss of Pique, we believe that a reinforcement would be good for us. We are open to a signing.

"I see the squad as competitive despite the three losses. Normally, the logical thing was not to need anyone.

"With Hector's departure, maybe yes. I still see it as very competitive. I'm still happy.

"I'm not looking at the market. I'm keeping an eye on Betis. We can move eight points ahead of second place. That's what I'm concerned with."

If Barcelona do make a late move in the market, Xavi confirmed they would not be available for the trip to face Betis.

"I already thought we wouldn't sign anyone, so don't worry. Whoever comes, he won't play tomorrow," he added.

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    Though focused on more than just immediate results, Busby pointed out that victory in upcoming matches is part of a larger vision—a journey toward a third-consecutive World Cup appearance in 2027 and the continued development of a sustainable, competitive program for Jamaica’s women’s football.

    The Girlz will take on South Africa at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on November 29 and December 2, in what will be their first matches on home soil since November 2022. It will also be the first game in Jamaica for the core group of the 2023 World Cup squad since last September’s Olympic qualifying playoff against Canada.

    “It’s special to have the girls back playing in front of our fans. This is an opportunity to connect with the home crowd again, but it’s also a critical step in our preparation for what’s ahead,” Busby shared as he unveiled his 23-member squad.

    “We're looking to have a good performance, then that leads to, obviously, a good result to end the year, but really it is also about us continuing to evaluate and to make the proper assessment of the players who continue to kind of move forward into World Cup qualifiers. I mean, that's really the bigger picture. So short term, let's get two good performances this week...two good results and take that into the February window,” he added.

    Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw has been in good form for Manchester City.

    Busby’s approach reflects his determination to build on recent experiences, including lessons learned from challenging matches against top-tier opponents like Brazil and more recently, France.

    Despite a compressed six-day camp prior to that encounter, in which they lost 0-3, he noted the progress made in refining their style of play, particularly in maintaining possession and executing defensive transitions.

    “We didn’t get the result we wanted against France, but there were positives, especially in how we’re evolving our style of play—keeping possession and building from the back. But we need to cut down on individual mistakes and improve decision-making in critical moments. Football is a game of moments, and minimizing mistakes during crucial periods is a key focus for us,” he noted.

    With the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil as the ultimate target, Busby has been focused on establishing a winning culture while integrating new talent into the team.

    For the last camp, he invited Taylor Hinds, Lulu Jarvis, Reanna Blades, and Natasha Thomas in to see how they fit into the programme, but none of those players are listed for the upcoming camp, in which national youth representative Destiny Powell and Naya Cardoza will be the only new players among the core group.

    The coach stressed that his job is not just to guide the team to their third consecutive World Cup but to lay the groundwork for Jamaica’s participation in every World Cup thereafter, hence the consistent inclusion of young talent.

    “It’s not just about Brazil in 2027. It’s about creating a sustainable pipeline of talent so we’re always competitive because their growth today will fuel our success tomorrow. So it's really important to get these young players in,” Busby shared.

    “My responsibility is to get this team to the 2027 World Cup, but with that said, you know, we want to ensure that we're going to every single World Cup afterwards. Integrating young, talented players into the group to see where they are keeps the group fresh and challenges the group to keep it competitive. The success that we've had in the past, the average age, I believe was about 26 years of age, so they'll probably be about 28 going forward,” he explained.

    One of the most exciting elements of the upcoming friendlies is the return of Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, who has been in rich form for Manchester City.

    Busby, while highlighting her influence, both as a leader and a prolific scorer, as key to the team’s offensive strategy, also emphasized that the team’s success needs to be rooted in defence as former captain Konya Plummer, left full-back/winger Siobhan Wilson, and defensive midfielder Peyton McNamara also make a return to the fold. Wilson recently recovered from an ACL injury.

    Siobhan Wilson makes a long-awaited return after an ACL injury kept her out of action for nine months.

    “One of our objectives is to keep a clean sheet. Being good defensively has been the basis of our foundation of success without a doubt, but the biggest inclusion in this group is leader ‘Bunny’ Shaw. She's been in great form, as we all know, so it gives us another option up front to go around with all the as to go along with the other attacking options we have. But having her back in the group helps tremendously,” the tactician declared.

    Like the Reggae Girlz, South Africa are also fresh off their participation in the 2023 World Cup, and Busby expects the games to be another tough challenge for his side, much like it was in their last meeting in 2019 when they played out a 1-1 stalemate in Durban.

    “Going into these two games against a great-quality opponent in South Africa still gives us a really good litmus test in terms of where we are and, more importantly, where we need to go. So that is the objective. We want to get the wins. We want to improve performance. And we're hoping that these next two games will see a much more improved performance than we have before, that's for sure,” Busby ended. 

    Squad: Rebecca spencer, Liya Brooks, Allyson Swaby, Konya Plummer, Naya Cardoza, Vyan Sampson, Chantelle Swaby, Deneisha Blackwood, Siobhan Wilson, Atlanta Primus, Destiny Powell, Peyton McNamara, Jade Bailey Drew Spence, Paige Bailey-Gayle, Olufolasade Adamolekun, Khadija Shaw, Kayla McKenna, Davia Richards, Jody Brown, Shania Hayles, Shaniel Buckley, Tiffany Cameron

     

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    Luis Enrique confirmed that Paris Saint-Germain striker Goncalo Ramos is nearing a return to action after sustaining an ankle injury on the opening day of the season. 

    Ramos, who scored 14 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions in his debut season for PSG last year, has not featured for the Parisiens since their 4-1 win over Le Havre in August.

    But despite his absence, Luis Enrique's side sit top of the Ligue 1 standings ahead of welcoming Toulouse to the Parc des Princes this Friday. 

    They are also the top scorers in the division, netting 33 goals in 11 matches so far, nine more than Marseille, who are second in the scoring table. 

    And as the hectic festive schedule kickstarts, Luis Enrique revealed Ramos has already returned to full first-team training. 

    "It was the 25th and that is in a few days, so it is the final phase of his recovery," Luis Enrique told reporters.

    "As for when he is available (to play) we do not know. We will see in training, he is doing really well and is in full training."

    Following Friday's fixture against Toulouse, PSG travel to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League, hoping to ignite their European campaign. 

    The Ligue 1 champions are at risk of failing to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition having taken four points from their first four games this season.

    They currently sit 25th in the new 36-team league table, and with an important week coming up, Luis Enrique insisted he would think about rotating his squad. 

    "You mustn't only think about the game against Toulouse but also the workload for players with their national teams," he said. 

    "So we will make decisions based on what we think. We want to win against Toulouse, which is our main target."

    Ousmane Dembele did not feature during the international break after he left the France training camp with a hamstring issue, though he is expected to feature this Friday. 

    "In theory, it was nothing serious. I don't think it was a big issue and these things happen during the season," Luis Enrique said.

    "It is normal with such a busy schedule, he should be available to play."

    While Toulouse sit 10th in the league standings, they will provide PSG with a difficult test. They come into the game on the back of three consecutive wins, all without conceding a goal. 

    PSG have also not won any of their last two meetings against Toulouse (D1 L1), and could go three games without a win against the Violets for the second time in the 21st century after a winless streak between December 2007 to October 2009 (five). 

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    Brighton and Hove Albion boss Fabian Hurzeler believes his players need to rebuild their momentum following a two-week break after their 2-1 victory over Manchester City.

    The Seagulls came back from a goal down in dramatic fashion to inflict City's fourth successive defeat in all competitions last time out.

    Though the international break came at a bad time for his in-form team, Hurzeler refused to criticise the schedule ahead of their trip to the Vitality Stadium.

    "You always have to work to get momentum. It's always a new game and no matter if there's a break between games or not, the game starts from zero," he told a pre-match press conference.

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    Bournemouth – Evanilson

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    Brighton – Danny Welbeck

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    He has scored two away goals so far in the current campaign, coming on the opening day at Everton and the only goal of the game at Newcastle United last month.

    MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

    Bournemouth come into this in 12th place in the Premier League on 15 points after 11 matches, having lost 3-2 to Brentford in their most recent game.

    At home, though, they have taken 10 points from five matches (three wins, one draw, one loss) and come into this with three successive victories at the Vitality Stadium. They have never won four Premier League home games in a row.

    Brighton have earned seven points from five away games (two wins, one draw and two losses) and, despite being six places above their hosts in the table, there are just four points between them.

    While Bournemouth have won four of their five Premier League home games against Brighton, Fabian Hurzeler's side come into this in good form having won three of their last five (one draw, one loss) Premier League matches – as many victories as they managed across their previous 16 league games (six draws, seven defeats).

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Bournemouth – 41.2%

    Draw – 25.1%

    Brighton – 33.7%

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