Barcelona will look to sign a new pivot midfielder in January despite financial issues

With the January transfer window inching closer, Barcelona are working in overdrive to resolve their financial situation to some extent so that they have some room to manoeuvre.

The priority for the winter is to register Vitor Roque, with Xavi eager to have the Brazilian in the squad as backup for Robert Lewandowski.

However, at the same time, even though it will pose a challenge on the economic front, journalist Jordi Cardero is reporting that Barcelona will look to sign a new pivot midfielder in the January window.

Barça sporting director Deco has identified the pivot position as one of the priorities for the summer, along with signing a new right-back and a left-back.

However, given recent events, there appears to be a possibility of signing a pivot in January itself.

Question marks over Romeu

This past Saturday, when Xavi Hernandez named his starting lineup for Barcelona’s game against Real Madrid, he opted to bench Oriol Romeu.

The manager opted to go with the double pivot of Ilkay Gundogan and Gavi instead of starting the summer signing, brought in to replace Sergio Busquets, in the biggest game of the season so far.

Romeu did come on in the second half of the match but was culpable in part for Real Madrid’s winner as he did not track Jude Bellingham’s run into the box.

The Spaniard’s form has taken a hit after a strong start to the season and there is no natural backup for him in the first-team squad at the moment.

Xavi has tried a variety of options, including giving minutes to young Marc Casado against Shakhtar Donetsk, but it appears that a new pivot could be signed in January.

Deal must be financially feasible

As iterated earlier, the club’s priority, at Xavi’s request, is to be able to sign Vitor Roque in January.

And while it will already be complicated for Barcelona, it will be even more so to incorporate an additional player.

However, they are aware that there are many players who would make an effort to play for Barcelona.

The La Liga champions are working with the case of Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo from the summer as a precedent. Whether they find someone that fits the bill remains the big question.