Barcelona are struggling to find the right balance in midfield, and against Girona, their inability to control the match was shown up. While Ilkay Gundogan, Frenkie de Jong and Pedri could not hold down the midfield, part of the reason is the lack of Sergio Busquets.
The short-term fix for his position was supposed to be Oriol Romeu, who returned to the club from Girona for €3.4m following an excellent season in Northern Catalonia. However after a good start to the season, Romeu fell out of favour and has scarcely returned to the starting line-up since.
Cadena SER allege that Xavi Hernandez has lost faith in Romeu, and believes he is too slow both in terms of covering ground, and taking decisions. As such, he is no longer in his plans, less than six months after signing him. As Girona faced Barcelona at the weekend, Presidents Delfi Geli and Joan Laporta reportedly discussed the return of Romeu to Girona. Michel Sanchez is keen on reinforcing his midfield, and does not have a clear option in the pivot role outside of Aleix Garcia. This comes shortly after reports that Michel is keen on bringing in Donny van de Beek in January too.
If Romeu were to leave Barcelona, it would raise more questions about both Xavi and Barcelona’s transfer policy. While there is an inherent risk in signing any player, and with veterans that they drop off, if in the space of just three months that Romeu no longer fits their plan, or the plan has changed so rapidly, then it makes good squad planning tricky. Especially on a budget, with Barcelona unable to afford write-offs.
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