Barcelona Are In Advanced Talks To Land This La Liga Midfielder: What Will He Add To Xavi’s Team? | OneFootball

In a recent report, Sport stated that Barcelona are in advanced talks to land Girona midfielder Oriol Romeu this summer. It has been claimed that the Catalan club are close to agreeing on a deal to bring the Spanish midfield ace to the Nou Camp in this off-season.

Romeu’s Decent Campaign In Spanish Football

Romeu had a solid season at the Spanish club last season when he put in a run of influential displays for them in the middle of the park. The veteran midfielder found the back of the net twice in 36 appearances for Girona in the previous campaign across all competitions.

The Ulldecona-born footballer proved himself to be a valuable contributor by averaging 2.1 tackles, 1.1 interceptions and 1.5 clearances per 90 minutes in La Liga. He was even accurate when distributing the ball from midfield after making 87.3% of his attempted passes in the top tier of Spanish football (stats via whoscored).

Romeu is under contract at the Spanish club until the summer of 2025. Therefore, Barcelona would do well to sign Romeu on a cut-price deal ahead of the new campaign.

Real Sociedad’s Spanish midfielder David Silva (L) vies with Girona’s Spanish midfielder Oriol Romeu during the Spanish league football match between Real Sociedad and Girona FC at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian on May 13, 2023. (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA / AFP) (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA/AFP via Getty Images)

What Will Romeu Add To Barcelona Head Coach Xavi’s Team?

Romeu is a tough-tackling midfielder who can read the danger well to secure the ball back for his team at the centre of the park. He doesn’t mind clearing his lines when the opposition are on the front foot and is a tidy passer of the ball as well. Romeu is primarily a holding midfielder but can also fill in as a box-to-box midfielder if asked to do so by his manager.

The Spanish midfield enforcer would add more bite and steel to Barcelona head coach Xavi’s midfield. He might even help the Catalan club challenge for a major trophy or two in the upcoming campaign.

Romeu would serve as an ideal replacement for Sergio Busquets at the Nou Camp. He already knows La Liga well by now and won’t take much time to adapt to life at the Catalan club. Therefore, Xavi would be wise to try everything he can to get him on board before the start of the new season.