Barcelona will not reinforce key position in January, retain confidence in underfire veteran

Even though the January transfer window is still some way away, rumours regarding Barcelona and their plans to reinforce the squad in the winter are already picking up steam.

Reports have suggested that the Blaugrana plan on signing a new pivot midfielder in January as there is no natural backup for Oriol Romeu in the squad and the veteran star’s performances have been slipping of late.

Names such as Guido Rodriguez, Arthur Vermeeren, and Andrey Santos, among others, have been mentioned as potential targets as well.

No pivot signing

But, as per the latest update from Luis F Rojo of MARCA, Barcelona will not reinforce the pivot midfield position during the January transfer window.

The sporting department is aware that the position does not have two natural players in the squad, as is the case with centre-forward and right-back slots as well.

But, at this point, there are no plans to sign a new defensive midfielder and any reinforcements will only be sought during the summer transfer window next year.

The La Liga champions are already in a bothersome position when it comes to Financial Fair Play regulations and if there is margin, the idea is to use that to complete the registrations of Vitor Roque and Gavi.

Full confidence in Romeu

As mentioned earlier, Romeu’s performances have been slipping of late, with the 32-year-old putting on one of his worst displays of the season last week against FC Porto.

That was not the single instance, though, as the summer arrival had some subpar displays prior to that, leading to question marks over his quality and suitability to the team.

But, Xavi and the club’s sporting department continue to have full confidence in Romeu and as such, will not bring in another player to bolster the pivot midfield position.

The Catalans are prepared to rely on players like Ilkay Gundogan, as was the case against Granada last night, and Frenkie de Jong, Sergi Roberto, or even Andreas Christensen if need be.