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Sergio Busquets’ departure from Barcelona at the end of last season was among the biggest talking points among fans in the summer.
Barça had failed to reinforce the positions despite warning signs for multiple seasons. The over-reliance on Busquets’ availability, coupled with complacency from the club, who often resorted to more ‘attractive signings’ instead of a No. 6 spelled trouble.
However, stuck in a financial crisis, Barcelona did not have enough money to shell out on a replacement, either. Xavi believed Martin Zubimendi was the ideal choice, while reports claimed that the board was day-dreaming about Ruben Neves for a while.
Eventually, though, the Catalans were priced out of both operations and had to make an emergency move for Oriol Romeu from Girona, who cost them ±€3.5 million.
And for a while, the La Masia graduate did step up. He looked composed, sharp, and was doing a lot more than most fans would have expected from him. The veteran even came awfully close to scoring a banger or two, as well.
As soon as Frenkie de Jong got hit with his first injury of the season, though, things fizzled out for Romeu.
The ex-Chelsea and Southampton man’s flaws in possession, and on the turn were exposed, and even after De Jong’s return, Romeu became a pressing trigger for most teams. This led to a lot more turnovers for Barcelona, and eventually goals.
The 3-1 loss against Real Madrid, for example, stands testament to this. Once Xavi substituted off Fermin Lopez in favour of Romeu, Madrid gained a lot more control of the midfield, and eventually created better chances.
Not quite Barcelona level, through no fault of his own. (Photo by LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images)
This is not to put all the blame on the Spaniard, though. But at the time when the defence was severely underperforming, the security from the holding midfield should have been a way out of trouble for Barça, not more trouble.
Xavi opted to use Ilkay Gundogan in that role for a…
Source link : https://barcauniversal.com/andreas-christensen-not-busquets-replacement-but-barcelonas-best-bet-right-now/
Author : Udhav Arora
Publish date : 2024-03-15 18:26:35
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