The highly unique skills and experience that Sergio Busquets provided to FC Barcelona meant the Calatans would always struggle to replace the La Masia graduate whenever he left the club.
Busquets left Barcelona at the end of the last season, leaving the Blaugranes with a mammoth hole to fill in their squad. After considering several names, another La Masia graduate was selected to be the midfield pivot at Barcelona this season, i.e., Oriol Romeu.
Romeu had a good start to his life at Barcelona, but his performances declined gradually. For now, he is not a starter for Xavi, despite being the only natural midfield pivot in the squad.
With such an inauspicious situation at the Catalan club, there is constant speculation about the future of the midfielder. Now, as SPORT has reported, news from Italy indicates that Roma is interested in the midfielder for a loan till the end of the season.
The report mentions that Jose Mourinho is looking to strengthen his team to make a push for the Champions League spots in the Serie A in this second half of the season, while also looking to advance as far as possible in the UEFA Europa League.
There is space for Romeu in the Roma squad as well, as the Portuguese midfielder Renato Sanches is not enjoying any prominence under Mourinho, and could leave in January. Sanches has rejected offers from Turkiye and Greece but can accept to a change of scenery if a more tempting offer comes.
However, if the Portuguese midfielder remains at Roma, the Italians would not be able to land Romeu.
Meanwhile, Xavi also does not want to lose the midfielder, as the Catalans already have a very thin squad. Thus, he would give the nod for his departure only if another midfielder can arrive at Barcelona at Romeu’s expense.
