Xavi desperately wants €60 million-rated midfielder, Barcelona consider player-plus-cash deal

Sergio Busquets confirmed last week that he will leave Barcelona at the end of the season when his contract expires. Having been the permanent fixture at the base of the midfield for 15 years, the Spaniard is set to leave a gaping hole in the team when he moves on.

Barcelona, for their part, have already been sparked into action as they scour the market for suitable replacements for their departing captain.

Ruben Neves of Wolves is a candidate that club president Joan Laporta is endorsing, with personal terms also agreed with the Portuguese ace. However, he is not a player that manager Xavi Hernandez wants to sign.

Instead, as reported by Sique Rodriguez, the Barcelona manager is desperate to sign Real Sociedad ace Martin Zubimendi to replace Busquets next season. Xavi wants the Spanish ace at all costs even though his €60 million release clause makes the operation very difficult.

Zubimendi has grown into one of the most solid holding midfielders in La Liga over the past couple of years. And it seems like the 24-year-old has won over Xavi, with the Barcelona manager pushing for his signing in the summer.

But, the situation is very complicated as Zubimendi recently signed a new contract with Real Sociedad and has a release clause worth €60 million embedded in it. La Real have no desire to lower that valuation while Barça are not in a position to shell out such a sum.

Hence, the report states that the newly-crowned La Liga champions are considering offering players in exchange to lower the cost of the operation.

With Real Sociedad understood to be in the market for a new right-back, Barcelona could offer them the services of Sergino Dest, who is currently on loan at AC Milan and has no future back at Spotify Camp Nou.

Zubimendi, for his part, is currently focused on finishing the season strongly with Real Sociedad. The 24-year-old has previously spoken about how he is happy at the Basque club, saying:

“I don’t know if I could leave or not, but I have not even considered leaving. This season, I am enjoying a lot, I am very happy here, with my life, and I want to continue fulfilling the objectives of the club and my own, I think it is the best I can do.”

But with Xavi insisting on his signing, it will be interesting to see whether Barcelona are able to strike any sort of agreement with Real Sociedad over a possible player-plus-cash deal.

Player valuation in title obtained from transfermarkt.com on date of publication.