There are currently many different operations ongoing at FC Barcelona. The Catalan giants need to find a solution to the head coach dilemma, and that is an urgent priority. Without it being solved, Barcelona are left behind in a bad place irrespective of other operations.
However, it is also worth giving attention to at least one another guarantee that the club needs. Apart from needing to solve their managerial dilemma, Barcelona need to also bring in a new pivot into the first team.
At the moment, there is essentially no quality at all present in that position within the first team, despite it being an incredibly important position at Barcelona. That is where Barça are forced to come to a crossroads, with two paths giving them two completely different routes.
As per Mundo Deportivo, one of those pathways leads to Barcelona landing a proven star of the sport, someone who has achieved great success and provides undoubted quality, while the other route takes them down a route where they put their faith in a homegrown talent.
The first name in question is that of Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich. Aged 29, the German star would be a player with proven merit and pedigree if Barcelona end up signing him. However, MD states that Barça already have a Kimmich of their own, and that would be the 20-year-old Barcelona Atletic captain Marc Casado.
In terms of the profiles they offer, both players are quite similar upon a detailed viewing of their reports. Just like Casado, Kimmich is a player who thrives more as part of a two-man defensive midfield duo while also being able to play as a right-back, something the Barça B captain is well-known for doing as well.
This versatility, coupled with their creative and physical natures, makes their profiles quite similar. Moreover, the thing that MD points out the most as a consequence of this is the prices involved. The Bayern Munich star would cost Barcelona anywhere between €40-60 million, whereas Casado would be a homegrown talent who would cost nothing.
In other words, Barcelona already have their own ‘Joshua Kimmich’ within their ranks. Interestingly, at the age of 20, Kimmich himself was given his first taste of the highest pressures of football at Bayern Munich, when former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola mentored him.
For Casado, who also happens to be 20 now, the coach’s faith could be crucial in terms of his future at Barcelona now.
