Barcelona have begun to close down operations during the summer transfer window already and have even made official the signing of Manchester City star Ilkay Gundogan. Yet, one of their most daunting tasks remains yet to be sorted out during the transfer window.
The Catalans continue their hunt for a new pivot following the departure of club legend Sergio Busquets and have since been shortlisting various alternatives to consider should they manage to acquire them.
While some of those alternatives are sportingly ideal matches in the eyes of FC Barcelona and Xavi Hernandez, they are financially unfeasible simultaneously. There are others currently in the circle of Barcelona’s interest, yet their cases remain complicated as well.
Despite the rather slow progression in terms of finalizing an option to bring in as an elite quality pivot, SPORT reports that Barcelona may have a secret ace up their sleeves to fill that vacant pivot position in the form of a player already within their ranks who currently occupies a different position altogether.
In a press conference, Xavi Hernandez himself hinted at the possibility of possibly deploying Danish central defender Andreas Christensen in the central defensive midfielder role, stating that:
…He is one of the best signings this season and in recent years. He is an extraordinary defender. And the way we play, because of how he filters balls, divides, and understands the free man, he could be a midfielder playing behind…
The former Chelsea man has already played in the pivot position several times during his early developing years as well as on a handful of times during games with both Chelsea and the Danish National team.
In official first-team games, the Dane has played 6 games as a pivot, two of those games even came at the 2018 FIFA World Cup against Croatia and France.
Moreover, with the arrivals of both Inigo Martinez and Mikayil Faye as central defenders alongside the reported request of Jules Kounde to be used more specifically in the center of the defense as well, it may even be a smart alternative to use Andreas Christensen as a pivot in the scenario that no new additions are brought in for said position by the end of the summer transfer window the Catalan giants.
