Barcelona See Their Loan Offer Get Rejected For This Eredivisie Left-Back: Big Blow For Xavi?

In a recent report, Sport mentioned that Barcelona have seen their loan offer get rejected for Ajax left-back Nicolas Tagliafico. It has been stated that Barca were willing to loan a few players back to Ajax to make enough room in their wage bill for the Argentine defender but the Dutch outfit are refusing to give up their prized asset.

Tagliafico’s Lackluster Campaign In Dutch Football

Tagliafico has experienced an underwhelming campaign at Amsterdam so far after struggling to hit the heights of his performances from last season. The 29-year-old has only registered two goals and one assist in 15 matches for the Dutch club this season across multiple competitions.

The Argentine international has seen most of his playing opportunities come off the bench which explains why he is only averaging 0.8 tackles, 0.6 shots, 0.3 key passes 0.4 dribbles per game in the Dutch Eredivisie. However, he has distributed the ball relatively well from the left flank after completing 86.8% of his attempted passes in the Spanish top tier (stats via whoscored).

Barcelona See Their Loan Offer For Tagliafico Get Rejected: Big Blow For Xavi?

Tagliafico has decent pace under his belt and can make some driving runs down the left wing when he is playing well on the pitch. He has a great leap in him and can win his fair share of aerial duels for his team.

The 36-time Argentine international can also be a solid defender at the back as he usually scans the danger quickly to secure the ball back inside his half. However, he has struggled to secure regular first-team starts at Ajax this season.

Still, missing out on a player of Tagliafico’s quality will be a big blow for Barcelona this month. Even though the player is having a tough season at Ajax, there is no doubt about his quality which could be why Barca were showing interest in him.

Tagliafico would have offered decent competition for Jordi Alba at the Nou Camp. However, his loan move didn’t materialize, so Xavi would now have no choice but to switch his attention to some of his other targets when the transfer window reopens in the summer.