FC Barcelona lost Sergio Busquets after last season, and one of the highest priority objectives for the club’s sporting department now is to get a long-term replacement for the former midfielder.
This summer, Oriol Romeu was brought as a stop-gap solution to fill for Busquets. After some convincing appearances earlier in the season, Romeu has struggled to impress in the last few matches.
As a result, the Catalan club is already looking for another midfield pivot as soon as the upcoming winter transfer window.
Barcelona monitoring Vermeeren
Barcelona has had several midfielders in view for such a role, and one of them has been Arthur Vermeeren. The Catalans have been monitoring the Royal Antwerp player for around a year now.
The situation of the player was also discussed between the Sporting Directors of the two clubs, i.e., Deco and Marc Overmars, before the Champions League tie between Barcelona and the Belgian club.
Barcelona had Vermeeren in their eyes even before Deco took his charge at Barcelona, but the two clubs are in perfect harmony if a move is to be materialized in the future.
In fact, Overmars himself commented recently that: “I have no doubt that Vermeeren could play for Barça at a high level. The first time I saw him, he reminded me of Xavi or Iniesta in terms of his style of play.”
Royal Antwerp warn Barcelona
However, according to Mundo Deportivo, Royal Antwerp have warned Barcelona that they are not the only interested club in the midfielder, as there are other big clubs ready to bid for the youngster whose contract ends in 2026.
Manchester United, Arsenal, and Liverpool are three such clubs attentive to the midfielder’s situation, but are not the only ones interested in him. Lyon is also being touted as a possible future destination for the midfielder, as have been the German giants, Bayern Munich.
The player is currently valued at €17 million on Transfermarkt, but the Belgians expect to gain around €20-25 million from his sale.
