There are seven: Lenglet, Umtiti, Trincao, Dest, Nico, Abde and Collado
Nico and Collado are now injured; Umtiti is recovering sensations and Lenglet has lost prominence
There are seven players that FC Barcelona has on loan this season, all of them footballers who for one reason or another did not have a place in Xavi Hernández’s squad. Some of them do not count for the coach and the club had to give them up after not finding a satisfactory transfer for both parties. Others, like Nico and Abde, have gone looking for minutes with the option of returning to Barça next season. In this report, we take a look at how the seven players on loan are faring.
LENGLET
The French central defender was left without a place at Barça after the arrivals of Christensen and Koundé and left on loan to the Premier. He plays for Antonio Conte’s Tottenham and the role he had in the first part of the season has dropped in 2023. Indisputable in the center of the defense of the London team in 2022 and even scoring the goal that put Tottenham in the round of 16 of the Champions League, he has barely played so far this year in the Premier, although he did start in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Milan. Ben Davies is stealing minutes in the domestic competition. He has played 21 games and has scored one goal. His loan ends on June 30 and there is no purchase option, although at Barça they hope he can stay in England.
UMTITI
After his innumerable problems with injuries, it seems that the Frenchman has found his place in Lecce, a team to which he left on loan until June 30 without a purchase option. It was difficult for him to enter the team and get in shape, but since he did he has become the indisputable center back, with remarkable performance. He is down this day due to discomfort in a thigh, he had eight consecutive starts, seven of them playing the full 90 minutes. He has played a total of twelve games in Serie A. He has a contract with Barça until 2026 and the club hopes to be able to transfer him this summer. The problem, his high record.
TRINCAO
After playing on loan last season at Wolverhampton, the 23-year-old Portuguese winger went to Sporting Lisbon last summer. He did it on loan, but with a mandatory purchase option of seven million euros that will be added to the three paid out this year for the loan. He has played 33 games this season, with seven goals scored, but his performance has gone from more to less, having lost ownership during the month of February. There is concern in the Lisbon club with him and he is working with a psychologist.
DEST
The American full-back, who has never been to Xavi’s liking, went on loan to Milan, a team in which he has not managed to get a starting position. Currently with muscular problems, his performance in Italy has not been satisfactory and the Blaugrana club take it for granted that he will return in the summer because Milan will not make effective the purchase option they have on him, which is around twenty million euros.. He has played a total of fourteen games with the Italian team.
NICO
Xavi had Nico, but the youth midfielder preferred to go on loan in search of playing more minutes. He chose Valencia, a difficult club that is experiencing, once again, a turbulent season, with three coaches already on its bench. Nico is currently injured after undergoing surgery for a fracture in the fifth metatarsal of his left foot. Before getting injured, he had alternated starting and substituting with Gattuso, performing well. Nico renewed with Barça until 2026 before going on loan to Valencia without a purchase option. The idea is that he returns this summer and forms part of the first team..
ABDE
The youth squad player, like Nico, went out in search of minutes and faced with the tough competition he had in the squad. Osasuna is being a good destination for the Moroccan, who came to play the World Cup in Qatar with his country. He alternates titles and substitutions and Arrasate uses him many times as a shock. He has played 18 games and scored one goal, key for Osasuna to qualify for the Copa del Rey semifinals, which they will play against Athletic. He went on loan without a purchase option and Barça wants him to return to the first team, although a transfer is not ruled out if there is a good offer for him.
COLLAR
After playing on loan last season at Granada, he is doing so in the current one at Elche, a team that has a foot and a half in Second Division. The Elche club does not have a purchase option on him and he will return to Barça, although it seems difficult for him to stay in the first team. His performance has gone downhill. He started the course as a starter to lose prominence. He has played eleven games and has scored one goal. He has been injured since January. He injured his right adductor.