With Sergio Busquets announcing his exit from FC Barcelona, the La Liga champions have been scouring the market for a proper replacement for their departing captain.
Xavi and the rest of the sporting staff had identified Martin Zubimendi of Real Sociedad as the most ideal option to take over from Busquets. However, the Spaniard’s signing is made difficult by the fact that he has a €60 million release clause in his contract.
On top of that, Zubimendi does not seem to have any intentions of leaving Real Sociedad at this point either. These factors have now prompted Barcelona to drop his name from their summer wishlist for pivot midfielders, reports SPORT.
This development comes after Zubimendi made a statement in a recent interview, claiming that he is more excited by the thought of replacing Asier Illarramendi at Sociedad than Busquets at Barcelona.
“Inheriting Asier Illarramendi’s ‘4’ motivates me more than Sergio Busquets’ ‘5’,” he had said, making it clear that he wishes to stay put with the Basque outfit.
As such, Barça, for now, have given up on their pursuit of Zubimendi, and with the signing of Joshua Kimmich from Bayern Munich also seen as very difficult, the La Liga champions have three options in front of them – Sofyan Amrabat, Ruben Neves, and Guido Rodriguez.
Amrabat is understood to be the frontrunner for the pivot position at Barcelona at this point. The 26-year-old has Fiorentina’s word that they will let him go this summer after having blocked a move to Camp Nou during the January window.
The Moroccan international wants a move to Barça, and could cost just around €20 million, a figure that should be within the Catalans’ reach.
As far as Neves is concerned, personal terms have been agreed between him and the club, thanks to the influence of his agent, Jorge Mendes. However, the Portuguese international has never been a priority for Xavi.
Meanwhile, Guido Rodriguez’s trail is believed to have gone cold, but the report claims that the Argentine World Cup winner is more well-liked and preferred by the staff than Neves.
As such, all signs point towards a move for Amrabat, who appears to be the best-placed to replace Busquets at Barcelona.
