Barcelona set out three alternatives for their next pivot – report

The quest for Sergio Busquets’ heir at FC Barcelona is in full swing, with a number of options being considered by the Catalans. With no one target being particularly close to arrival to Barcelona, the list of candidates for this position is seeing the inclusion of new names as older targets get excluded.

With the arrival of Joshua Kimmich looking increasingly difficult, Martin Zubimendi is one of the top priorities for the club to play the pivot role from next season, and Xavi himself also strongly prefers the young Spaniard to any other target.

However, the club’s finances, coupled with Real Sociedad’s refusal to budge from their valuation of the player and the player’s own commitment with La Real make a transfer for him very difficult.

As a result, the club is also looking at some other options, in case they are unable to get Zubimendi this summer. According to Mundo Deportivo, Guido Rodriguez and Marcelo Brozovic are the two primary candidates for the club in this regard, while Sofyan Amrabat is also being considered at a lower rank in the priority list.

Marcelo Brozovic ticks the boxes for technicality, competitiveness, positional awareness, and experience, and has already been linked with FC Barcelona, in a swap deal with Kessie. However, he is already 30 years old and is expected to only decline in the years to come.

Guido Rodriguez is another midfielder plying his trade in La Liga whom Xavi likes. The Argentine is currently playing with Real Betis, and the Barcelona head coach sees him as a couple of steps below Martin Zubimendi in regard to his quality and age. Guido has the positional awareness and ball-winning abilities to thrive in a pivot role but does not have Busquets’ passing range or ability.

Sofyan Amrabat is another player being considered for the role, especially because of his performances with the Morocco national team in the last World Cup. The 26-year-old is a powerful midfielder, but his inability to turn with the ball is one weak point that is putting off Barcelona scouts and coaches.

Thus, FC Barcelona have a number of alternatives in sight in case their pursuit of Zubimendi does not go as planned. Still, the club should try their best to get Zubimendi, as he is best from this list of candidates.