Xavi Hernández ‘s biggest concern when planning next season is replacing Sergio Busquets . The captain, who is at the end of his contract, has already announced that he is leaving, ending his long and golden period at Barça . Busquets is a fundamental piece on Xavi’s board, so finding an ideal substitute who can take on the role of Badia del Vallés is a surgical task. And for the Barcelona coach, the ideal substitute for Busquets is Martín Zubimendi , a midfielder from Real Sociedad , who a few weeks ago renewed with the Basque club , but with the intention of leaving a financial benefit next summer
Xavi’s desire, however, keeps getting more complicated. First, because Barça is trying to convince him that Rubén Neves , a Wolves player , is a better option. On the one hand, because he has more experience in the elite. And for another, and more important, because it is a cheaper and simpler operation, since it has been offered by Jorge Mendes . The savings in his signing would serve to go to Bernardo Silva
To this problem, the fact that Manchester United has decided to sign Martín Zubimendi has now been added, as the Express newspaper reports this Wednesday . Erik Ten Hag is not satisfied with the performance that Eriksen , the starter in the midfielder, is providing, which is why he has asked for the signing of Zubimendi, who would form a high-level duo alongside Casemiro
The price of the Basque midfielder is 60 million euros, as the player imposed to keep his termination clause when he renewed. Manchester United would have no problem paying the amount in full, while Barça intended to lower it, with the player’s help. Real Sociedad will not negotiate, so the signing is complicated, and a lot
Plan B, then, would be Rubén Neves, although Xavi Hernández plans to add one more piece, in case the Portuguese doesn’t fit. The Terrassa coach is following very closely the progress of Nico González at Valencia , as his intention is for the Galician to be important in the Barça of the future. Nico started with prominence, although lately he is playing less. Despite this, Xavi trusts him and wants to give him a chance, even if it is in the pre-season
The other idea that Xavi contemplates is to resituate Frenkie de Jong, his main plan, although the Dutchman continues not to adapt to what the coach of Terrassa asks of him. At Barça, in fact, they continue to not rule out the transfer of De Jong, although if Manchester United ends up signing Zubimendi, they will have to find another destination for him
