FC Barcelona have significantly strengthened their squad over the last summer window. The club has addressed the main weaknesses in the squad, primarily by getting Joao Cancelo as a right-back who will not only play as the team’s starting right-back but also cover for Balde in the left-back position.
Another position that Barcelona got covered this summer was that of the midfield pivot. Sergio Busquets left the club after the end of the last season, and the club replaced him with Oriol Romeu, whose style of play is significantly different than that of the former Barcelona captain, but who will still provide Xavi with an interesting option in the midfield.
Romeu the only pivot in the squad
However, Romeu is already thirty-one years old, and he is the only player with his profile currently in the squad. Thus, Barcelona may face trouble if Romeu is fatigued or injured during the hectic season ahead, and will have to replace him soon anyway keeping his advanced age in view.
There are a number of options that Barcelona have in their books, as most of these were considered for the pivot position before Romeu was finally selected.
However, the club can go with a young midfielder, who can develop further while playing a subsidiary role in the first team, while also not costing the club as much as an established player would.
Barcelona can get Diaz in January
One player who is still very young but has been in the sights of the club for several months now is the Uruguayan gem, Fabricio Diaz. Barcelona have been scouting the 20-year-old youngster with interest since the last few months, and especially since he featured in the FIFA U-20 World Cup with Uruguay, which he ended up winning.
The journalist Roger Torello of Mundo Deportivo now reports that Barcelona can sign the Uruguayan in January for a transfer fee of less than €9 million.
However, Deco has yet to give his approval for this transfer, and the report mentions that Barcelona have several other players outlined for this position, including Guido Rodriguez, Palinha, Florentino Luis, Jorginho, Thiago Alcantara, and Adrien Rabiot.
Thus, it will be interesting to see which of the two youngsters Barcelona goes within the coming months, as they need at least one of them in the squad.
