Douglas Luiz is said to be on FC Barcelona’s shopping list – Photo: / Getty Images
Club icon Sergio Busquets (35) ripped a hole in FC Barcelona’s midfield with his departure to Inter Miami in the summer. Unlike the previous transfer period, the Catalans want to dig deep into their pockets for the central office next summer. According to a Spanish journalist, sports director Deco (46) has long since found his desired solution.
Between world stars like Lionel Messi (36), Xavi Hernandez (43), Andres Iniesta (39), Neymar (31) and Luis Suarez (36), Sergio Busquets was always somewhat under the radar at FC Barcelona. However, how important the lanky midfielder, who held the six-man position for the Catalans for 15 years, was this season.
Oriol Romeu doesn’t perform as hoped
Due to the tense financial situation, FC Barcelona management preferred to sign Oriol Romeu (32) as an inexpensive interim solution for the defensive midfield. Like Busquets, the 32-year-old went through FC Barcelona’s youth teams, but was unable to make it into the professional squad.
Instead, Romeu went into the wider European football world and returned to the Mediterranean metropolis in the summer twelve years after his departure, after he had attracted the attention of his training club last season with great performances at FC Girona.
Oriol Romeu is at Barça on the night of Ersatz – Photo: Marta Fernandez Jimenez / Shutterstock.com
But the interim solution didn’t last long. After the former Stuttgart player had managed to impress in the first few weeks, his form went downhill relatively quickly. In the last eleven league games, Romeu was only in the starting line-up twice. Instead, Xavi prefers to offer DFB captain Ilkay Gündogan (33) or Frenkie de Jong (26) in the position in front of the defense center.
Although both have the playing skills to fill the role, they feel much more comfortable when they can move a little more freely on the pitch and sometimes rush into the final third.
It will be upgraded in the summer
Those responsible for the reigning Spanish champions have long since learned their personal lessons from the past few months and are in agreement: in the summer they will have to dig deep into their pockets for another top-class midfielder.
The list of personal details that are bubbling in the rumor mill never ends. While a change for Joshua Kimmich (28) is still on the table, Martin Zubimendi (24), Bruno Guimaraes (26), Ederson (24) and Marco Verratti (32), among others, have also been brought into play. According to Spanish journalist Adrian Sanchez, Barça’s sporting director Deco (46) has long since chosen his dream player.
Deco is said to already have a dream player in mind
This is said to be Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz (25). The Brazilian is not necessarily the classic Busquets replacement in terms of playing style, but he can fill the role in defensive midfield and is extremely valued by Deco.
The 25-year-old has played a large part in the Lions’ rise to fame this season (third place in the Premier League) and has been one of the top players in the English upper house in central midfield for several years. The problem with the whole thing, however, is that Villa had asked for 100 million euros for the 25-year-old’s services in the summer. A sum that would probably force the financially stricken Catalans to throw in the towel today.
Douglas Luiz is contractually bound to the club until 2026, so there is no reason to deviate from this asking price, even given the current high price. Apart from the away game against Brentford, which he missed due to a yellow card suspension, the midfielder has been in the starting line-up in all Premier League matches so far.
Sources used
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2024-01-02 12:00:28
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