Ronald Koeman and new president Joan Laporta will map out Barcelona's future during the international break, and going Dutch would be in keeping with Camp Nou tradition.
The club which has been a magnet to Netherlands greats of the past may see more Oranje stars arriving, with Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum said to be a prime target.
According to the Sunday Times, Wijnaldum has a pre-contract agreement to move to Barcelona when his Anfield deal expires at the end of the season.
Reuniting with former national team coach Koeman would hold obvious appeal to Wijnaldum, who has been circumspect about his Liverpool future.
But what would Wijnaldum bring to a team already in the hunt for a domestic double? At the age of 30, would this signing make sense for Barca?
What options do Barcelona already have?
It may not be a vintage midfield of the type Pep Guardiola was blessed with, Sergio Busquets being the last survivor of that era in the centre of the pitch, but Barca are not badly off for talent.
Busquets and Miralem Pjanic bring the experience, Pedri the youthful exuberance and Frenkie de Jong is proven quality as he approaches his mid-20s.
They have the attacking option of Philippe Coutinho – who has been out injured since December – while Riqui Puig is a talent who Koeman appears unsure about.
Busquets and De Jong look a strong midfield pair, covering plenty of the pitch, with De Jong the likelier to roam away from the central channel.
What difference would Wijnaldum make?
At the age of 30, 'Gini' would not be bringing down the average age, even though that must surely soon become a priority for Koeman.
The head coach knows all about Wijnaldum's game from their time together in the Dutch national set-up, so there is a trust factor there, and to get an international player on a free transfer, albeit with high wages, could be seen as a good deal.
Yet to delve into this season's data, there appear to be very few areas where Wijnaldum excels above Barcelona's current crop.
Three goals and zero assists in 40 matches from Wijnaldum pales against what Pedri (three goals, six assists) and De Jong (six goals, five assists) have achieved from a similar number of games; however, it puts him ahead of Busquets (no goals, two assists) and Pjanic (no goals, no assists).
Wijnaldum's 18 chances created is fewer than what each member of that Barcelona quartet has achieved (Pedri 49, De Jong 38, Busquets 30, Pjanic 20), and although he is considered strong in the air, his 36 aerial battles won is bettered by De Jong and Busquets (both 45).
The former Newcastle United and PSV man has taken more shots (31) than any of that Barca midfield four, with Pedri (27) leading the way among those Blaugrana players, but he has too often failed to be clinical.
There are defensive qualities to Wijnaldum's game, and he has made 201 ball recoveries for Liverpool. Busquets (203), De Jong (234) and Pedri (173) suggest Barca are already handily equipped on that front.
If Wijnaldum is being signed as a replacement – say, if Pjanic is moved on to bring in such much-needed funds – then there could be merit in his arrival.
Otherwise, he looks to be just extra midfield stock.
Tackling a big issue
Wijnaldum's tackle success rate has nosedived in the 2020-21 season, having already been on a gradual decline during his career in England.
During his year at Newcastle in the 2015-16 season, Wijnaldum won 84.21 per cent of his tackles, and after three seasons of 60-plus percentage success with Liverpool, his rate dipped to 53.19 last term, though in a championship-winning campaign that hardly felt significant.
This season, however, it has crashed to 29.63 per cent, with his performance indicative of Liverpool's lame follow-up to their Premier League title triumph.
Such a rate would not cut it at Barca, where Puig (37.5 per cent) is the only midfielder with tackling success under 50 per cent this season. Busquets (58.46 per cent), De Jong (58.33) and Pedri (57.89) are the engine room players who have done most of the heavy lifting, setting the sort of standard any newcomer must expect to achieve.
Koeman favourite he may be, but Wijnaldum, a Champions League and Premier League winner with Liverpool, cannot live off past glories.
Barcelona will need an upswing to follow that downswing. After all, when Koeman said he wanted to bring a lad in, he really meant a Gini with bottle.
Fiorentina 2-1 Milan: Gudmundsson seals win after De Gea penalty heroics
David de Gea saved two penalties for Fiorentina, setting the stage for Albert Gudmundsson to score the winner in a 2-1 victory over Milan.
In a pulsating encounter that saw three missed penalties and two red cards, Fiorentina prevailed to halt Paulo Fonseca's Serie A winning run.
The hosts had the first spot-kick of the game, with Moise Kean's tame effort being kept out by Mike Maignan before the forward had a goal disallowed for offside.
Former Milan midfielder Yacine Adli did break the deadlock soon after, ricocheting a low shot in off the far post from the edge of the box, and De Gea kept them ahead at the break, superbly denying Theo Hernandez from the spot.
Kean had a second goal chalked off for offside in the second half and Milan wasted another golden opportunity from 12 yards, as De Gea got down well to keep out Tammy Abraham this time.
On the hour mark, an in-form Christian Pulisic finally pulled the visitors level with a perfect volley, but the drama was far from over as Gudmundsson drilled his low shot past Maignan to put Fiorentina back in front in the 73rd minute.
Emotions ran high in the final moments as Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino was sent off, while Hernandez also received his marching orders for arguing with the referee after the final whistle had gone.
Data Debrief: De Gea's penalty redemption
For all the plaudits De Gea received while at Manchester United, one blip on his record was his struggles against penalties.
However, with his impressive showing against Milan, he became the first goalkeeper to make two penalty saves in a single Serie A match since Federico Marchetti in May 2016.
Since his debut in the top five European leagues (2009-10), the Spaniard has saved 10 of his 52 penalties in the league, including each of the last three, having also saved one against Fulham in May 2023.
Rangers 2-0 St. Johnstone: Cerny double provides Ibrox redemption
Rangers got back on track in the Scottish Premiership as Vaclav Cerny scored both goals in a 2-0 victory over St. Johnstone.
Philippe Clement's side were thrashed 4-1 by Lyon in Thursday's Europa League clash at Ibrox Stadium, where they made amends with a routine domestic victory on Sunday.
Cerny broke the deadlock 11 minutes before the interval, cutting inside and curling a sumptuous effort into the bottom-left corner of Ross Sinclair's goal.
Czech Republic winger Cerny added Rangers' second, and doubled his account, just before the hour after combining with returning midfielder Ianis Hagi before producing a right-footed finish into the far corner.
Hagi – who had not played a first-team game for over a year due to a contract dispute – was sent off with nine minutes left though, following a VAR review for a high challenge on Benjamin Kimpioka's standing ankle.
Rangers still recorded a comfortable triumph to move back within five points of the league-leading Celtic, who are clear of Aberdeen on goal difference, heading into the October international break.
Data Debrief: Defensive recovery after Lyon pain
Rangers were well off the pace in the Lyon hammering in which they shipped four goals, though the hosts rediscovered their defensive solidity here.
Clement's men have now won three matches in a row without conceding in the competition for the first time since doing so across January and February last campaign.
It came as no surprise, however, given St. Johnstone have lost each of their last seven away league games against Rangers without scoring a single goal in the process.
Kompany not concerned despite Bayern's defensive issues in Frankfurt
Vincent Kompany saw no reason for concern despite Bayern Munich conceding a late equaliser in Sunday's 3-3 draw away to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Bayern have now failed to win any of their last three matches in all competitions after last week's top-flight draw at home to Bayer Leverkusen and their midweek Champions League loss at Aston Villa.
Kim Min-Jae sent the visitors ahead early on, only for in-form Omar Marmoush to level before his strike partner Hugo Ekitike edged the home side into the lead.
Goals from Dayot Upamecano and Michael Olise turned the game around, only for Marmoush to provide a last-gasp equaliser – yet Kompany did not appear too worried at the full-time whistle.
"This was a tough game against a team that was second in the Bundesliga [before the match]," Kompany told a press conference after the points were shared in Frankfurt.
"When I look how the team worked and ran for each other it is a positive performance.
"We are all judged by results but my job is to see how we perform against some of the top teams in Germany and continue to improve. If we continue like this we will have a lot of wins."
All three Eintracht goals came from quick counter-attacks with the Bayern defence caught off guard.
"The way we approached the game I cannot say I am not proud of the team," Kompany added.
"I know you are all going to talk about the three goals that we conceded. We always have to improve things step by step. There are things that are not perfect but I have to focus on the things we did well."
The Bavarians now have 14 points and sit top of the table on goal difference ahead of RB Leipzig, who were 1-0 winners at Heidenheim earlier on Sunday.
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