After spending around 11 months on the sidelines, the FC Barcelona midfielder returned to the pitch this season following his successful recovery from a traumatic ACL tear.
The Spaniard made his return to the field on 20th October, in the match against Sevilla, and also got minutes in the ensuing games, including against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. In total, he has made 12 appearances this season, and also got two starts, first in the draw against Celta Vigo and then in the defeat to Las Palmas.
He has not gotten another start since that defeat, and the match against Borussia Dortmund was the first instance in his career when he did not get on the pitch despite having been named in the squad list for a Barcelona game.
This decreasing prominence would make an outside observer believe that the midfielder is anxious about his situation, especially keeping in view the highly competitive nature of Gavi, who always wants to play and help his team.
However, SPORT reports that this is not exactly the case, and the La Masia graduate is quite calm about his situation as he understands this is all a part of the process that he must undergo after having spent almost a year on the sidelines.
Similarly, he also understands that he has several other midfielders to compete against for a starting role, including the likes of Marc Casado, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Frenkie de Jong, Fermin Lopez, and Pablo Torre. This task of breaking into the starting eleven is even more difficult under Flick, as the German does not alter his starting lineups too much.
Furthermore, Gavi is also still finding his role in the team, and this was particularly obvious in the match against Leganes, as his movements towards the centre of the field allowed the visitors to keep him under control more easily.
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BEIJING, CHINA - JUNE 15: Lionel Messi of Argentina reacts during the international friendly match between Argentina and Australia at Workers Stadium on June 15, 2023 in Beijing, China.
BARCELONA, SPAIN - DECEMBER 15: Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona is presented with the Golden Boy 2024 award prior to the LaLiga match between FC Barcelona and CD Leganes at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on December 15, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain.
VITORIA GASTEIZ, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 3: sports director Deco of FC Barcelona during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Deportivo Alaves v FC Barcelona at the Mendizorroza Stadium on February 3, 2024 in Vitoria Gasteiz Spain.
Despite this decreasing prominence, Gavi still remains an essential ingredient for the team going forward, including for Flick and Deco. That is why the latter is particularly focused on renewing his contract and has been in talks with his agent for this purpose for some time now.