Barcelona are prepared to throw their weight behind new manager Xavi Hernandez in the winter transfer window as he looks to salvage their season after a poor start under Dutchman Ronald Koeman. Barcelona president Joan Laporta made the decision to sack Koeman as the club’s permanent manager in October on the back of an unimpressive run of results in both the Spanish La Liga and the Champions League. Laporta then masterminded the appointment of Xavi as the new permanent manager and the Catalans have been much improved since the former club midfielder took charge of the team last month.

Xavi is on course to receive backing on new players in the winter transfer window. However, the amount of money available for transfers is not clear considering that the club is in financial crisis.The Catalans have been linked with a lot of players ahead of the resumption of the winter transfer window next month. One of the Barcelona transfer targets is German forward Timo Werner who moved to Chelsea from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig at the start of last season in a £52m deal.

Apart from Werner, Barcelona are also interested in his Chelsea teammate, Hakim Ziyech. Catalan publication Sport revealed the interest of Barcelona in both Moroccan attacking talent Ziyech and Werner.

Scoring goals has been a major headache for Xavi Hernandez since he became the Barcelona manager in November and he’s determined to solve the problem in the upcoming transfer window. Barcelona have scored four goals in the three games under his management with three of the goals coming in the last league game against hosts Villarreal. The Catalan giants scored three goals as they beat the reigning Europa League winners 3-1 away from home. The win over Villarreal ensured that Barcelona moved within five points of the top four places in the race for Champions League football next season.