Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez refused to deny that he met with Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland in Germany earlier this week.

Haaland, 21, is expected to leave Dortmund in the summer and ESPN have reported that Barca, along with Real Madrid and Manchester City, are interested in signing him.

- Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
- Don't have ESPN? Get instant access

Reports in the Spanish media on Tuesday claimed that Xavi, along with Jordi Cruyff, who is working as a sporting advisor at Barca, met with Haaland in Munich, where he has been receiving treatment on an injury.

Sources told ESPN that Cruyff was in London when the meeting was said to have taken place, but Xavi passed up the chance to deny that he had met with the Norway international.

"I can't give details, I can just say that we're working on the future," the Barca boss said in a news conference on Saturday when asked about meeting Haaland.

"I understand the interest and am aware that everyone wants to know about these things, but we have to be focused on the present, on the Elche game [on Sunday]."

Sources have told ESPN that Madrid plan to talk with Dortmund in the coming days about Haaland, while City are also in the race for the striker.

Meanwhile, Barca are targeting free transfers to improve their squad elsewhere -- with deals on track for Andreas Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta and Franck Kessie -- to save money for Haaland.

Madrid are also hopeful of landing Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain this summer, and Xavi said the arrival of two of the game's biggest stars would be great for Spanish football.

"The more players of that level, the best in the world, the better for LaLiga," he added. "It improves the league, which would become more attractive. These players bring a lot of fans with them, so it would be a huge positive."

Meanwhile, Barca announced the signing of 18-year-old midfielder Pablo Torre from Racing Santander on Friday for a fee that could rise to €20 million.

"We have been following him a while," Xavi said. "He's a natural talent. He can play in midfield or wide, he's two-footed, scores goals, is great from dead balls...He's very young but he has the capacity to play for Barca for many years.

"It's a great signing, one for the present and the future. He will be in the first team dynamic, but will play for the B team if he needs minutes, like Ferran Jutgla and Abde [Ezzalzouli] this season, because it's important to play at that age."

Xavi said he would like to hand Dani Alves a contract extension but added there have been no talks yet about prolonging the 38-year-old's stay beyond the end of the season.

"He's contributing a lot," he said. "His professionalism and positivity is contagious. He's also delivering on the pitch and I have no doubts he would keep offering a lot next year despite his age."

Barca face Elche in LaLiga on Sunday and can, temporarily at least, move third with a win. Xavi has no new injury worries beyond the long-term absences of Ansu Fati, Sergi Roberto and Samuel Umtiti.