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Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has been offered some advice regarding who would be the “perfect” player to succeed 34-year-old captain Sergio Busquets at the Camp Nou.
Busquets is into the final year of his contract at the club and it’s not clear yet if he will continue or walk away. Former player and Barcelona B coach Francisco Javier García Pimienta has told Cadena SER that Nico Gonzalez is the perfect successor to the captain, as reported by Mundo Deportivo.
“He meets all the requirements, he is the perfect player, ideal to play for Barça. I have a lot, a lot of faith in Nico,” he explained. “He went up to Barça B with me when he was in his last year of youth and I saw that he understands the position in the pivot game. Last season Nico was already at Sergio Busquets’ side and, from my point of view, he meets all the requirements, he is the perfect player, ideal to play for Barça, although that does not mean that his game is only specifically for Barcelona.”
Nico left Barcelona on loan in the summer transfer window for a loan spell with Valencia in order to enjoy regular minutes. The midfielder made it clear at the time that his departure was “not goodbye, it’s see you later.”
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Nico Talks Favorite Position
The Barcelona loanee has made six appearances for Valencia this season and has already opened his account for Los Che. Nico was on target in a 5-1 win over Getafe in La Liga at Mestalla.
The midfielder has been talking about his new club and told Tot Costa that he believes his best position is as a defensive midfielder. Nico also discussed what he has already learned from playing with Busquets.
“Where I feel most comfortable is as a defensive midfielder. What I have learned most from Busquets is at a tactical level, he is gifted, he is always well placed and this is what I need to improve the most and learn from him,” he said. “I am at a good level, happy. I have been here a little over five weeks, I have just arrived, I did not expect to arrive and be a starter in the first game. I’m happy with the minutes I have.”
Barcelona will no doubt be monitoring Nico’s development at Valencia carefully, particularly with the knowledge that this could be Busquets’s final season at the Camp Nou.
The Catalans have been linked with a number of players to replace their captain, including Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, but Nico does remain a viable option for the future.
Busquets Offers Future Update
Meanwhile, Busquets has offered an update on his future and insists he is yet to make a decision on what he will do next season despite speculation claiming he is set to move to Major League Soccer, as reported by Mundo Deportivo.
“Everything that has appeared in the media has seemed strange to me because there is nothing. haven’t thought about it, I want to see how the season goes. I have several options: continue at my club or in other leagues,” he said. “It is clear that I am not 20 years old, but in the end, a priori, it is the last year of the contract that I signed, I understand that there are rumours, but another thing is that they are false and things are not official until they become official.”
Replacing Busquets will be an almost impossible task but Xavi will know it’s something Barcelona will have to do sooner rather than later.
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