Barcelona select Oriol Romeu as Busquets’ replacement
Barça see the Girona midfielder as the ideal man to occupy the vacancy in the centre of the park. Villarreal’s Dani Parejo was the first option but the player is happy where he is.
All roads lead to Oriol Romeu. The Girona midfielder is the one who Barcelona have to fill the position left by Sergi Busquets. The sports management’s first option to fill the vacancy of the former Barça captain was Dani Parejo, but the Villarreal player rejected the proposal.
Parejo has a year to run on his contract with Villarreal but a clause in the arrangement would allow him leave on a free transfer before 30 June. Barcelona tried to convince the player before that deadline expires this weekend.
During the past few days, the plot to bring the former Real Madrid youth team star to Barça was believed to be at an advanced stage, but as the negotiations progressed the operation began to ebb away. From what AS has been able to learn, neither the economic proposal nor the sports project which Barcelona put forward convinced him. On top of that, he feels very happy in Vila-real where he is idolized by the fans - so why run the risk of losing that by going somewhere else?
With Parejo out of the picture, Barcelona activated plan B: Oriol Romeu. The Girona midfielder, whose contract ends in 2025, has now become the priority target. Oriol Romeu knows Barcelona perfectly - he came through the youth system at La Masía. So in some ways, his signing would mean a return home after 12 years away. This season, he has been one of the pillars in Girona’s superb season. He has the quality required at Barça and the good relations between both clubs mean striking a deal shouldn’t be too much of a problem.