Barcelona Will Spare No Effort To Sign A Top Defensive Midfielder, Two Names On The Table
After an endless period oscillating between the options on his table, Sergio Busquets opted to call it time on his career at Barcelona. His final decision came early in May, and it is now ascertained that he is playing his final games in the legendary garnet-and-blue.
His departure leaves a void in the squad that is difficult, if not impossible to fill. While Frenkie de Jong and Eric Garcia can theoretically play in the same position, Xavi thus demands an able replacement from the market.
According to reports from Javi Miguel, Barcelona will spare no effort in signing a top defensive midfielder come June. At the moment, two names appear well placed on the club’s list- Martin Zubimendi and Joshua Kimmich.
The former featured at Spotify Camp Nou at the weekend and was an integral part of Real Sociedad’s 2-1 win over the Catalans. Purely in terms of profile, he is one of the few players in the world who can fill Busquets’ shoes.
His €60 million release clause has deterred the Catalans from pursuing him so far, but the latest report adds that Barcelona are not ruling out the possibility of paying it.
Kimmich, on the other hand, is a more distant target. The Bayern Munich star is technically off the market from the Bavarians’ perspective and could arrive in Catalonia only if he pushes for a departure. Needless to say, his arrival would be more of an economically fatiguing operation.
Kimmich is understood to be Xavi’s dream signing for the midfield and will be attempted if the player shows positive signs of pushing the transfer.
Earlier today, Xavi Hernandez spoke about both transfer targets in his pre-match press conference but refused to dive into the chances of signing them.
“He’s [Kimmich] a spectacular player, one of the best in the world in his position. Zubimendi? I do not want to be disrespectful towards Sociedad because their director was upset about me talking about him.”
Apart from these two stars, names like Sofyan Amrabat and Ruben Neves have also been linked. But, it seems like Xavi and Barça are focused on signing one of Kimmich or Zubimendi.
