Barcelona see the signing of €60 million Busquets replacement as ‘practically impossible’

With Sergio Busquets set to call time on his Barcelona career at the end of the season, the Catalans are left scouring the market for a replacement for their club captain.

Several options have been linked with a move to Camp Nou as a result, but according to multiple reports, manager Xavi Hernandez has identified Martin Zubimendi of Real Sociedad as the ideal candidate to take over from Busquets next summer.

Recent reports suggested that Barcelona had made it a point to land the Spanish midfielder and a new right-back in the summer of 2023.

However, according to journalist Albert Roge, the option of Zubimendi is moving away from Barcelona, who see the signing of the 23-year-old as ‘practically impossible’ at this point due to his €60 million valuation.

Zubimendi signed a new contract with Real Sociedad recently, extending his stay at the Anoeta until the summer of 2027. However, he did so on the condition that his release clause amount of €60 million will not be increased.

However, as things stand, Barcelona are in no position to shell out such a sum to sign Zubimendi next summer.

Meanwhile, La Real have no intentions to offer any sort of discounts to the Blaugrana, while they will also seek a one-time, upfront payment, which complicates matters further for the Catalan giants.

Considering these factors, Barcelona see the possibility of signing the Spanish midfielder as extremely difficult even though Xavi continues to insist on his signing to take over Busquets.

Meanwhile, another name mentioned as a candidate to replace Busquets is Wolves Ruben Neves. However, the Portuguese international is not favoured by manager Xavi, who does not believe that the midfielder fits the right profile of the player he is looking for to succeed his captain.

But, club president Joan Laporta prefers Neves’ signing due to his relationship with Jorge Mendes, with the Barcelona supremo confident that the super-agent will help the club get a financially feasible deal for the 25-year-old.

N’Golo Kante of Chelsea is another option on the agenda and could be a viable target given that he will be a free agent in the summer. Ilkay Gundogan of Manchester City was also considered, but Barcelona have now decided to call off their pursuit of the German.

With Zubimendi’s signing seen as ‘practically impossible’ it remains to be seen how Barça go about their plans to replace Busquets.