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Barcelona spent big in the summer transfer window and may do so again, with a replacement for 34-year-old captain Sergio Busquets at the top of the club’s to-do list for next season.
Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi has been tipped to succeed Barcelona at the Camp Nou but a potential stumbling block to any possible deal may be about to rise.
Zubimendi is set to extend his contract at Real Sociedad until 2027 and sign a new deal which would also see his buyout clause rise from €60 million to €90m, as reported by Mundo Deportivo.
Real Sociedad want to hand Zubimendi a salary increase that would make him one of the club’s best-paid players and believe his buyout clause needs to reflect his importance to the club. However, it could also ward off potential admirers such as Barcelona.
Yet the Catalan giants will hope they could still negotiate a lower price and can take some heart from La Real’s recent transfer business. The Basque side sold striker Alexander Isak to Newcastle United in the summer for a reported fee of €68m which was lower than his buyout clause €90m.
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Barcelona Defender Talks Zubimendi Rumors
Barcelona center-back Eric Garcia has been asked about speculation linking Zubimendi with a Camp Nou move while on Spain duty during the recent international break.
Garcia knows Zubimendi well but would not be drawn on whether he expects the 23-year-old to join him at Barcelona next season, as reported by Football Espana.
“You have to proceed with caution with the comparisons. Busquets is the best midfielder I have ever seen and Martin, although he is at a very high level, has just started his career,” he said. “I shared the Olympic games with him and he surprised me, but I repeat what I said before. He is a La Real player and he has a contract. So I don’t know what will happen.”
Barcelona and Xavi see Zubimendi as the “ideal candidate” to replace Busquets when he finally calls time on his amazing Camp Nou career. The captain is out of contract at the end of the season but has played down talk he is definitely leaving.
Zubimendi Praises Busquets
Meanwhile, Zubimendi has been asked about Barcelona and Busquets and made it clear just how much he admires the captain of the Catalan giants in an interview with the Guardian.
“Busquets is unique, so good at feints, cutting back, very sharp, very clever pressing on the front foot, although it’s harder when he’s forced to go backwards,” he explained. “Us pivotes have the bad luck that maybe we don’t get recognised but if you understand football you know Busquets’ value. We’ve normalised him playing well so much we don’t always appreciate him. He’s set the bar so high that pivots are asked to do things we weren’t before. But that’s nice: you have to aspire to that.”
Yet if Zubimendi does renew his contract with Real Sociedad his increased buyout clause could end up pricing him out of a move to Barca. Xavi does have other options and has been told by former Barcelona B boss Garcia Pimienta that young midfielder Nico Gonzalez would be the “perfect” successor to Busquets.
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