Barcelona add Girona's Oriol Romeu to list of midfield options

Barcelona have weighed up the option of recruiting a former La Masia graduate who could be an alternative to cover the departure of Sergio Busquets: Girona midfielder Oriol Romeu, in the event that other preferred options, especially that of Inter Milan's Marcelo Brozovic, do not prosper.

On TV3's 'Esports 3' show, they report Romeu is one of the names being considered by the Catalan giants to reinforce a position that is a priority for Xavi Hernandez, due to the importance of the deep midfielder in the team's game plan, but above all because of the importance of the loss of a player like Busquets, who has marked an era and style in his fifteen years at Spotify Camp Nou.

And faced with the need to find alternatives to his departure, Barça officials have included Romeu in the list of targets. He previously had to continue his career away from La Masia and Camp Nou because it was impossible to unseat a midfielder of Busquets' quality and size.

After seven years in the youth ranks, Romeu signed for Chelsea in 2011/12 for a fee of 4.6 million euros. Oriol had made 47 appearances for Barça Atlètic (1 goal) and played in 2 first team games under Pep Guardiola: nine minutes of the Barça-Depor match in week 37 of La Liga 2010/11, and 90 minutes of the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup 2010/11 against Sevilla (3-1).

No Zubimendi or Kimmich

On 'Esports 3' they recalled Romeu's impeccable career in the club's youth ranks where he became known as "La Roca del Mini", and the need for the player from Ulldecona to continue his career away from home in order to consolidate himself in the elite. Chelsea, Valencia, Stuttgart, Southampton and now Girona are the teams the Catalan midfielder has played for since leaving Barça in 2011. 

Xavi Hernandez has had to look for alternatives to Martin Zubimendi (Real Sociedad) and Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) who escape the Blaugrana coach's wishes for different reasons. Brozovic is the preferred choice, but the name of Dani Parejo, the veteran Villarreal midfielder, has also been mentioned again.

Romeu, starring for Girona

According to 'Esports 3', Barça officials are looking at Romeu as an option in their search for alternatives. The Girona midfielder is a candidate that would not involve an excessive investment for the now limited coffers of the club as his termination clause would be around 5 million euros and his salary would not be excessively high.

Romeu joined Girona at the start of the 2022/23 season from Southampton for 5 million euros and has been a regular in Míchel's team (34 appearances, 2 goals). As a midfielder, he has been one of the pillars of the Catalan club's successful LaLiga campaign, finishing ninth, on the verge of a European place and playing some superb football.