Gavi flies with Spain while he solves his future

Apart from the goalscorer Morata, Spain’s draw against Portugal on the first day of the League of Nations had a prominent protagonist: Pablo Páez Gavira, better known as Gavi. The very young midfielder of Barça was the mainstay on which the attack of the national team turned, which lacks that twisted fang to kill the games in time and avoid subsequent hot flashes, such as the one that the Portuguese provided with the Horta target.

The palatial soccer player was the most incisive man in Luis Enrique’s team, challenging the Iberian neighbor’s defense with great verticality and participating in the most dangerous actions of La Roja at the Benito Villamarín, from which he came out with a standing ovation. The goal that put Spain ahead germinated in his boots, with a series of movements that summarize a good part of the virtues that adorned the great game that he completed in the Heliopolitan stadium: a sense of anticipation to catch the ball almost in front of the area guarded by Unai Simón, the ability to lead with his head held high, a perfect command of space and clairvoyance to release the pass to Sarabia at the right moment.

Already in the first minutes Gavi had threatened with a good shot and generated a lot of play between the lines. And after leading that electric counterattack that served to open the scoreboard in a very close match, he assisted Carlos Soler in a play that could have been the second goal for the Spanish team if the Valencia midfielder had been more accurate, and also Morata, who could not get revenue from a great service from Seville.

To all this he added his enormous deployment and that rogue point that allows him to measure himself against any opponent no matter how fierce, as he demonstrated in his disputes with Pepe. He successfully completed 94.4% of the deliveries he attempted, the most effective of the field players who started against Portugal, he made two key passes and, above all, he once again left the feeling, at his still 17 years of age, of that with the national elastic offers its best version.

Interestingly, Portugal’s goal came a minute after Luis Enrique ordered his replacement. “I have changed it because it has received a blow”, argued the coach, who was full of praise for the pearl to whom he granted the alternative in the ‘final four’ of the previous edition of the League of Nations and launched a message that some interpreted as a wake-up call to the Barça board, when the extension of the youth squad’s contract is still stuck.

«With Gavi I have a feeling that he is still unknown in Spanish football, even for people who are close to him. He with the ball is a very special player. A pure interior, capable of giving the last pass. He has a goal, he has a header and overwhelming physical power. A unique player, “said the Spaniard. «It is not my rule to criticize anyone, but I say what I see and what I feel. I’m not talking about your club, I’m talking in general. Gavi is unknown in Spanish football. Without the ball, they see that they fight, but with the ball he is a stranger, that is what he wanted to say », he specified.

tortuous negotiations

Despite this clarification, the truth is that Gavi’s future at Barça remains in question. The delicate economic situation that the club chaired by Joan Laporta is going through makes negotiations with the footballer difficult. His contract expires in 2023 and contacts with his representative, former culé player Iván de la Peña, began months ago, but, to date, without the fruit desired by both parties. “His representative of him is playing and comparing,” said the maximum Barca president a few days ago.

The intention of Gavi, whose termination clause amounts to 50 million euros and has clubs like Liverpool very attentive to his situation, is to prolong the link that unites him with Barça. He feels valued by Xavi, with whom he has closed a season in which he has been the sixth player with the most minutes on the squad and the fourth with the most games he has played. But his price, largely due to his role with the national team, has skyrocketed and he aspires to receive a salary according to his performance.

However, Barça’s offer is conditioned by the strict financial control imposed by the League, which has led the culé board to address the negotiation of a new salary reduction for the squad. Therefore, everything indicates that Gavi will start his vacation on June 13 with his future in the air. A scenario that does not affect his contribution to La Roja, with whom he has played 76% of the possible minutes since last October 6 he became, at 17 years and 62 days, the youngest debutant in the history of the selection.