Barcelona face Real Madrid battle for German international, but player not for sale

Barcelona are in the market for a new pivot midfielder to replace captain Sergio Busquets, who will be leaving at the end of the season.

And, recent reports have suggested that the newly-crowned La Liga champions are planning a swoop for Bayern Munich and Germany midfield mainstay Joshua Kimmich.

The 28-year-old is understood to be unhappy at the Allianz Arena and is open to an exit in the summer, alerting Barça who are very much interested in him.

Now, according to SPORT1’s Kerry Hau, apart from Barcelona, their arch-rivals Real Madrid are also keen on signing Kimmich in the summer transfer window. The journalist adds that the interest from the two La Liga behemoths in the German international is not new.

However, as things stand, Bayern Munich have no intentions to sell Kimmich and are planning the future of the club with him at the centre. In fact, the reporter even adds that the midfielder is seen as the future first captain of the club once Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller move on.

Kimmich’s current contract with the Bavarian giants expires in 2025. That, coupled with the midfielder’s alleged unhappiness, has given way to speculations about his future.

Barcelona are in desperate need of a new holding midfielder now that Busquets has announced his desire to leave at the end of his contract on June 30.

Kimmich is a player that is well-liked within the Barça offices. In fact, back in 2021, before he took over as the manager of Barcelona, Xavi had said that the German international would be perfect for the club.

“Since I saw you play I knew you could be a great player and now you are. You can really play in any position. You would be a perfect player for Barcelona, ​​as Lahm would have been,” he had said (h/t Mundo Deportivo).

But with Real Madrid also in the equation, things could get tricky. On top of that, as things stand, Bayern Munich have no interest whatsoever in selling their midfield asset.

So, the Blaugrana may well be better off focusing on achievable targets such as Sofyan Amrabat, who is keen to join the club and is unlikely to cost a bomb either.