Gavi before tearing his ACL was an undisputed starter at Barcelona and at times was outperforming his fellow Golden Boy, Pedri.
After his ACL tear though, Pedri has elevated his game and become an undisputed starter and Frenkie De Jong has been excellent since the arrival of Flick.
This has left Gavi in a tough spot as he’s fighting to be a starter and last season was obviously still struggling coming back from his injury. Now though, he seems to be regaining his form and some fans have started to wonder if Gavi should be consistently in the starting eleven.
The Case For Gavi
It was surprising that Gavi didn’t get the nod to start in the absence of De Jong as Flick decided to give the out of favor Casado a chance to start. This turned out to be the wrong decision as Barcelona were down 2-0 at the half and Flick brought on Gavi for the second half.
Gavi didn’t get on the scoresheet, but made a big difference with his control, passing of the ball, and his ability to recover the ball. He’s seen by many as just a guy that fouls and is passionate when in actuality he’s much more than that as he’s a pretty complete midfielder.
That completeness is what makes him a player that should be starting more often this season. Playing as a 10 isn’t his ideal position for him but he’s capable of doing it with his control, passing, and ability to be the first presser.
Pedri is undroppable, but Gavi should be the first guy to start if Pedri is injured or needs rest. He’s also good enough to fight for De Jong’s position as they are different players who play that position differently but their styles are needed for different types of games.
Where Gavi starts is unknown, but this guy is too good to just be coming off the bench.
