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Through ghe years, Barça fans saw a lot of players rise from their youth academy system. Xavi is also a product of the La Masia academy. Last season, the Spanish giants saw a lot of players coming in and leaving the club. They lost their main player, Lionel Messi, who made a move to PSG. However, there were some positives last season as Barcelona found a midfielder who could lead them to glory in the future. Pablo Martin Paez Gavira (Gavi) made his senior debut for Barcelona last season.
Gavi started his youth career at Real Betis’ youth academy. Barcelona signed him for La Masia at the age of 11. He rose through the ranks and represented his national team, Spain, at different age levels. The player has now become a regular under Xavi after some impressive performances and has also earned ten caps for his country at the senior level.
Gavi is here to stay
Barcelona and Gavi are on the verge of signing a long term contract. Here are some of the stats that show why the Spanish club is keen on offering him a new contract.
Gavi was a regular part of Barcelona’s squad last season and made 34 appearances in the league. He also featured in every UEFA Champions League game played by Barcelona in the 2021/22 campaign. Gavi started in four UEFA Champions League games and came off the bench in the other two. The above viz shows the heat map of the player in the UEFA Champions League.
Barcelona play in a 4-3-3 formation with two central midfielders and a defensive midfielder. Gavi plays as the central midfielder in the team.
One thing that can be noticed from the heat map is that Gavi likes to make runs towards the wider sides and link-up play with the attacker or the full-back.
The 17-year-old teenage sensation assisted five times in the LaLiga last season. He failed to make any goalscoring contribution in the UEFA Champions League. This was also due to Barcelona’s poor run in the competition.
Gavi attempted 167 passes with a high accuracy rate of 88.02%. The above viz shows all the passes that were successfully delivered by the midfielder. Most of his passes were directed towards the flanks. Of these 167 passes, 24 passes each were directed towards Memphis Depay and Jordi Alba, who play towards the left side. He also found his teammates seven times inside the opposition’s penalty box.
Bottom line
Gavi showed a lot of maturity at a young age. He has already cemented his place in the starting XI and has shown why he deserves a big contract from the club. Xavi will look to add more creativity to his gameplay by playing him in a more advanced role. The youngster will also look to improve his skill set and help his side earn silverware in the future.
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