At times the football cognoscenti have been accused of undervaluing Barcelona captain Sergio Busquets, but Eric Garcia will be doing no such thing.
The veteran midfielder has been linked with a move away from Barcelona next summer when his contract expires, which has led to rumours surrounding his potential replacements.
One candidate appears to have emerged for now, Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi. The 23-year-old has been in fine form for the Txuri-Urdin of late.
However speaking during a press conference at Spain’s Las Rozas base, Barcelona defender Eric Garcia thought comparison was a little premature.
“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.”
“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.”
His words were quoted by Mundo Deportivo. The young defender is doing Zubimendi a favour if anything – should a move materialise or not, expecting Busquets-like performances out of anyone seems overly optimistic.
As was the case with Arthur Melo, when the Brazilian came in to substitute the outgoing Xavi Hernandez at the time, it might be futile to look for a player who mimics Busquets more than anyone else. Instead finding a player who can imprint their own personality on the role might work out better.