The absence of a competent midfield pivot is one of the most glaring weaknesses in the current FC Barcelona squad. The Catalan club was blessed with one of the best players to play in this position in history, Sergio Busquets, but with his departure last summer, Xavi’s team has lost a key part of its midfield.
Recognizing this weakness, Barcelona are set to get a quality midfield pivot in the upcoming summer window, but the club’s finances are going to determine which of the available options they can get.
It is clear that it would be impossible to get a player of Busquets’ quality, and thus, getting a player that reaches the nearest to the former Barcelona midfielder should be a priority.
In this regard, Deco has already recognized the Manchester City midfielder Rodri as the ideal candidate, while also admitting the impossibility of getting him to Barcelona.
However, there is nothing to suggest that the midfielder will not want to play for Barcelona. In fact, SPORT reports that in a recent interview, Rodri remembered the legendary Barcelona team of Pep Guardiola in very good words as he said: “The 2009 Barcelona team is the best team I have ever seen in my life.”
The 27-year-old Spaniard has a contract with Manchester City that runs till 2027 and has a market value lying around €110 million. As Deco himself confessed, getting a player of his value would be practically impossible, especially for Barcelona as the Catalans have been going through an economic crisis for some years now.
Thus, Barcelona will have to continue with their market policy of identifying and signing young players with a high potential, and then develop them into top-class players.
One of the club’s priority midfield targets, Lucas Bergvall, got out of Deco’s hands recently, but Blaugranes should keep on monitoring the market for other such opportunities.
