Barcelona’s top priority this summer is to sign a new pivot. Oriol Romeu has struggled to live up to the hype of being the successor to Sergio Busquets, and another option is now wanted – one that is perhaps more established in the top level of European football.
The Blaugrana have been continuing their search for a new defensive midfielder throughout the season, with several names having been added to their shortlist. At some stage, one of their targets was Napoli’s Stanislav Lobotka, as was revealed by his agent, Branislav Jarusek (via Football Italia).
“We spoke about it with Deco. Barcelona would sign him, but many things must happen. Stanislav sent me a screenshot of what Xavi said about him. I sent him one showing the many times we spoke about him, because he (Xavi) often asks me about Lobotka.”
Barcelona got the opportunity to watch Lobotka first-hand when he took on Napoli in the Champions League, a tie which they won 4-2 on aggregate. It remains to be seen whether the Slovakian international is on their list for this summer.
