Xavi's biggest concerns at Barcelona

Barcelona players had a holiday following the May 25 friendly in Australia and will get back to training again on Monday.

The team hasn't changed much in the month that has passed since, and coach Xavi Hernandez is growing increasingly concerned.

To increase competition in the squad and with the desire to compete for trophies, Xavi requested a significant overhaul of the squad.

The coach is aware of the club's challenging circumstances, but he is anxiously awaiting word from Joan Laporta and the executives. Neither have the reinforcements he expected arrived, nor have the agreed departures taken place.

Xavi was very direct in the post-match press conference after the final LaLiga Santander game against Villarreal. The message was transparent to the board of directors.

"Now the work in the offices begins, and that may be more important than what happens on the pitch," Xavi stated.

"We have to improve and reinforce to compete on all fronts and to be able to compete, we have to change many things.

"The president, Mateu [Alemany], Jordi [Cruyff] tell me that changes are possible. We have met and we believe we can reinforce ourselves well.

"At a big club like Barcelona, you have to change a lot for things when you don't win titles."

But a month later, Xavi notices that almost nothing has changed. Ferran Jutgla and Philippe Coutinho have left, along with the players whose contracts and loans were up: Adama Traore and Luuk de Jong.

Dani Alves' contract has expired too, and Barcelona have decided not to renew his deal.

Returning to the club are Miralem Pjanic, Inaki Pena, Alex Collado, and Francisco Trincao, who were on loan.

However, players such as Clement Lenglet, Riqui Puig, Samuel Umtiti, Martin Braithwaite, and Oscar Mingueza, players who were expected to leave the club, still remain at the Camp Nou.

Talks ongoing

Although there are ongoing negotiations for their departures, some of which are close to completion (like Lenglet's move to Tottenham), they are still technically Blaugrana players.

These are players who the coach directly informed that he did not count on for next season. The majority of them do, however, want a change of scenery, even if they haven't left yet.

However, the Catalan club are certain that they will find suitors for them in the next few weeks.

Arrivals

But the arrivals that Xavi anticipated to increase competition in the team are yet to be seen.

Everything points to the club making the signings of Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen, both of whom are arriving on a free transfer, official in the coming days.

Xavi is impatient due to the restrictions and it is unclear when this will change.

The coach wants reinforcements in every section of the squad. The most ambitious acquisition is that of Robert Lewandowski, who will bolster the attack. He is valued at about 50 million euros by Bayern Munich.

The higher-ups at Barcelona have assured Xavi that the Pole will join. They also assured him that his dressing room would be competitive and built to challenge for the LaLiga Santander title.

Now, though, it's not looking like that will be the case when the season begins.