Barcelona star Oriol Romeu has come in for significant criticism in recent weeks, as he struggles to fill the gaps in midfield. But there is more than meets the eye to his struggles.
Romeu started off the season well, impressing alongside Frenkie de Jong at the base of Barcelona’s midfield. The 32-year-old has not had the same impact since de Jong exited with an injury in late September though.
After a less than impressive cameo in El Clasico, which saw Jude Bellingham escape his attentions for the winner, he was again called out for his poor defending, which compounded a sloppy performance. Yet Toni Juanmarti of Sport has revealed on Siempre Positivo Podcast that Romeu is nursing an injury.
According to the Barcelona insider, the former Southampton midfielder has discomfort in his knee, which has been flaring up if he plays two or three games in a week, a commonplace occurrence for the Blaugrana. While it is clearly not the only factor in his drop in form, it has been contributing to matters.
Part of the ‘problem’ with Romeu is that perhaps expectations have not been adjusted. Whomever came in as Sergio Busquets’ replacement was highly likely to look disappointed anyway, but when Romeu moved from Girona, it was apparent that he would not be a long-term solution, and was better suited to being a rotational option. Already there are reports that Barcelona will do what they can to move for another pivot in the January transfer market.
