With Sergio Busquets leaving Barcelona at the end of the season, Mateu Alemany and the incoming Deco will be tasked with finding his replacement, which will be no mean feat considering that Xavi Hernandez has no backup option in his squad currently.
Several names have been mentioned, including Martin Zubimendi and Joshua Kimmich. However, given that deals for these two will be extremely hard to pull off, other alternatives may need to be considered.
One of these is Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes. The Brazilian international has been in sensational form as a single pivot this season, and Barcelona are very interested in securing his services.
According to The Sunday Times (via Sport), Barcelona believe that they can sign Guimaraes in a deal that could reach as high as €100m.
Newcastle consider Guimaraes to be an indispensable player, and given the impact that he has had since joining them in January 2022, it’s hardly surprising that Barcelona are interested in signing him.
However, given Barcelona’s financial restrictions, pulling off a deal this summer would be extremely unlikely, especially if Newcastle take a hard stance on negotiations, which is to be expected.