Former Antonio Conte favourite set to join Xavi’s Barcelona staff | OneFootball

An insight into an impending addition to the coaching staff at La Liga giants Barcelona has on Thursday been forthcoming.

The info comes courtesy of Barca insider Toni Juanmartí of Diario Sport, and points towards the club brass moving to rectify the long-standing physical woes in the first-team setup in Catalunya’s capital.

The headline news at Barcelona across the day to date has of course come in the form of confirmation of head coach Xavi’s continuity.

Following a meeting with president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco on Wednesday night, the Spanish tactician has been convinced of the merits of seeing out the final year of his contract.

Speaking in a press conference this afternoon, Xavi assured that, despite previous claims to the contrary, changes would not be made to his coaching staff.

What has since been made clear, however, is that as much came in reference to potential departures.

This comes amid confirmation that incoming reinforcements are indeed on the horizon.

As per the aforementioned Sport, Julio Tous is primed to take up a role in Xavi’s backroom staff with a view to the 2024/25 campaign.

Tous, for his part, is a strength and conditioning coach, widely regarded as something of a ‘revolutionary’ in the field.

The Spaniard actually has previous experience on the books of Barcelona, all the way back in 2004.

More noteworthy, though, was his time acting as the ‘right-hand man’ to Antonio Conte, across his stints with the likes of Chelsea and Juventus.

Tous’ arrival at the Camp Nou will come with a view to ‘optimising the performance of the club’s players to its maximum,’ as well as preventing needless injuries.

Conor Laird | GSFN