Barcelona keen on lowering the €8 million price tag for midfield target

Oriol Romeu is clearly a target for Barcelona in the ongoing summer transfer window. With the club keen on alleviating the loss of Sergio Busquets, the Girona star has emerged as one of the priorities in the market.

Barcelona were initially keen on roping in quality individuals such as Martin Zubimendi or Joshua Kimmich. But the club are not in a position to pay a fortune for these players, which is why Xavi has set his sights on Romeu as a short-term solution.

Up until now, Romeu’s release clause value has been reported in an imprecise way, with most speculating it to be in the €5-10 million range. However, according to Mundo Deportivo, the exact value of the release clause in Romeu’s contract is €8 million.

That means Barcelona can secure the services of the former La Masia starlet for just €8 million this summer. The player, for his part, is keen on returning to Camp Nou and finally proving himself in the first team next season.

However, the sticking point for Barcelona is the player’s age. At 31, Romeu is in the final stage of his career and the club do not want to pay €8 million for such a short-term solution. They are not even willing to hand him a contract longer than a maximum of three years.

As such, the Blaugrana are expected to negotiate with Girona, hoping to lower the cost of the operation. The Catalan rivals, though, are unlikely to budge, as they consider Romeu as one of their most important players and a true leader in the middle of the park.

With that in mind, Barça could be compelled to offer one of their youth players, in order to sweeten the terms. Estanis Pedrola was rumoured to be one of the candidates, but these are still early days and more details should be out in the coming days.