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The former Southampton midfielder will join Barcelona as their replacement for Sergio Busquets (Image: Twitter)
FC Barcelona have come to an agreement to sign Oriol Romeu from Girona FC, with Pablo Torre going to Girona on loan as part of the agreement.
Spainard, Oriol Romeu is set to sign for FC Barcelona. As per Fabrizio Romano, the Catalonian club reached an agreement with his current club Girona FC to make the transfer happen as the necessary paperworks are yet to be completed. As part of the deal youngster Pablo Torre will make the move to Girona on a season long loan till 2024.
The Spainiard will come in as the replacement for Barca club legend, Sergio Busquets who left the club. Romeu is of the similar profile as Busquets, both of whom play the central-defensive midfield position as the anchor for the side. The new signing will mark the end of an era as Busquets had made the anchor role his own for 18 long years. Barcelona have depended on Busquets for a long time now and it will be interesting to see how the club will now adapt to the loss.
The competition for places in the starting 11 is tough that too within the midfield, with Pedri, Gavi, Frenkie De Jong, Gundogan, Kessie all who want to make their own marks in the starting 11. But the profile that has been missing is that of the Defensive Midfielder and it is going to be interesting to see whether the manager will use De Jong or Romeu or even someone else in the pivot position.
Barca’s style of play which is heavy on maintaining possession was fuelled by the stability provided by Busquets. Romeu who has had stints at in the Premier League, had over 200 appearances for Southampton where he was the anchor and played a key role in the midfield and after his departure from the Saints, the club now found themselves relegated.
Romeu will not be the long-term replacement but more of a stop-gap solution until Barcelona can sort their finances or find another heir to the #6 role from their infamous academy, La Masia.
FC Barcelona have had a pretty active transfer window with sigings like Gundogan from Manchester City, Inigo Martinez from Athletic Bilbao. This is despite the club being restricted due to FFP rules. The club also had some major departures with the likes of Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Samuel Umtiti, Antoine Griezmann and Francisco Trincao to name a few.
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