The wind of change is blowing at Camp Nou with Xavi Hernández's arrival as coach, and in that spirit, the current board is willing to give the incoming boss all the tools at their disposal to make his return to the Blaugrana side a successful one.
In that notion, the team is already thinking about possible reinforcements to sign in the winter transfer window, and before the coach's unveiling, they have already set their eyes on a player that has proven his goalscoring skills in La Liga before and would be getting to the club on a free deal. The player in question is none other than Congolese footballer Cedric Bakambú.
The former Villarreal striker scored 48 goals in 105 apps with the Yellow Submarine before joining Beijing Guoan in the Chinese Super League, where he has played the last three seasons. Bakambu's contract with the Chinese club is set to come to an end this winter, which would pave the way for his return to La Liga if terms between the player and the club can be reached.
Bakambú was the top scorer in all competitions for the team in his three years there, so his reputation as a reliable striker is intact. While playing for the Beijing-based team, he found the back of the net 53 times in 74 matches.
This is not the first time in which Bakambú was linked to the Blaugrana side. Back in the 2019-20 summer transfer window, Bakambu had already agreed terms and had even flown from Beijing to join Los Culés, but he was informed during a layover that the Catalan side had pulled the plug on the deal. The second time he came close to joining Los Culés came back in August, but back then, the Chinese side asked for quite a bit of money to make the deal happen, which forced the Blaugrana side to settle for Luuk de Jong.
Bakambu's addition to the team would benefit the team's offense, considering the number of absences they have had during the ongoing season. Added to Agüero's medical problem, Ansu Fati and Ousmané Dembelé have been forced to spend quite a bit of time on the sidelines due to injuries, and Bakambu's arrival could help their new coach ease their problems up front.
